Tunisia is hosting an erotic exhibition for the first time ever

Tunisia has proven to be a step ahead of Arab countries in 2017 ... and now its launching an erotic exhibition titled "Artgasme". 

Organized by the Median Book Club in Tunisia, the literature and erotic arts show is set to take place on Dec. 23 at el-Hamra theater, offering "a subtle and enjoyable moment," according to HuffPost Maghreb.

The show - which is considered to be a first - will include a combination of things such as visuals, dance, music, singing and theatrical readings of erotic texts. A debate - moderated by writer Sabrine Ghannoudi - will take place following the show.

Arabic literature doesn't shy away from eroticism - going back to the 10th century with the Arabic erotic work of "Encyclopedia of Pleasure," written by medieval Arab writer Ali ibn Nasr al-Katib.

The BBC wrote a report titled "The Ancient Arabic Kama Sutra" explaining the history of Arabic literary erotica before delving into more modern writings of the same theme.

In it, Leïla Marouane’s The Sexual Life of an Islamist in Paris (2010,) Ammar Abdulhamid's Menstruation (2011,) and a few others are explored. 

In July, a Muslim woman published a book titled, "The Muslimah Sex Manual: A Halal Guide to Mind Blowing Sex," offering intimate sexual advice to Muslim couples.

Different chapters of the book tackle various themes including sexual positions, a couple's first time, kissing and even BDSM.

A recently launched Tunisian LGBT radio station has made global headlines. Named Radio Shams, the network hopes to deal with opposition to LGBT rights in the country by creating a platform for their stories to be told. 

The news came just months after Tunisia ended forced anal examinations of LGBTQ community members. 

In September, Tunisia's minister of human rights Mehdi Ben Gharbia promised that members of Tunisia's LGBT community will no longer be subjected to forced anal examinations.

While judges will still be able to request that suspected homosexuals undergo the test, "that person has every right to refuse, without his refusal being held up as proof of homosexuality," said Ben Gharbia, according to The Daily Mail.

There was no specific timeline given as to when the test will officially be banned, but Ben Gharbia said Tunisia is "committed to protecting the sexual minority from any form of stigmatization, discrimination and violence [sic]." Anal exams are often dubbed the "egg test."  

The practice has been defined as torture by activists and numerous international organizations. 

Rights group Amnesty International welcomed the decision, but also said it does not go nearly far enough. Sodomy is still punishable by up to three years in jail in Tunisia, and LGBTQ individuals in the country face arrest and significant discrimination.

Despite the fact that homosexuality is still considered a crime in Tunisia, an LGBT documentary screened at a local film festival in a show of solidarity with sexual minorities in November.

Directed by Nada Mezni Hafaiedh, the documentary titled, "Upon the shadow" screened to a room of 500 at the Carthage Film Festival. It intimately documents the lives of several individuals from Tunisia's LGBT community. 

"I would never have thought my film would be selected and that Tunisians would be able to see it, because I know that sadly in Tunisia being gay is an abomination," Hafaiedh said.

During the course of the screening, the audience broke into applause several times. But, it wasn't all positive news.

According to Yahoo, a dozen people left the theater following explicit scenes showing naked transvestites or two men kissing. 

"The message of tolerance is good, but showing naked men isn't acceptable," said Nada, who was among the audience.