“Tunisia’s Free Women Against Violence” Coalition, an alliance of a number of women’s associations, found that the first and second drafts of Tunisia’s new constitution did not meet the aspirations of Tunisian women. Therefore, it proposed eleven points primarily centered on constitutionalizing women’s rights, and establishing equality.
“Tunisia’s Free Women Against Violence” Coalition, an alliance of a number of women’s associations, found that the first and second drafts of Tunisia’s new constitution did not meet the aspirations of Tunisian women. Therefore, it proposed eleven points primarily centered on constitutionalizing women’s rights, and establishing equality.
“The first and second constitution drafts neither respond to Tunisian women’s aspirations nor contain any additions that will enhance their status and role in nation-building,” said Najwa Makhlouf, the coalition coordinator and head of the National Committee of Working Women in the Tunisian General Labor Union.
She called for including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the constitution’s preamble and adding a new article to the Rights and Freedoms Chapter to recognize principles of gender equality in different areas.
Two Steps Backward
Human rights activist Radhia Nasraoui believed that instead of demanding to strengthen women’s gains to realize full equality with men, they had to defend and face the reactionary calls that emerged after the revolution.
“Unfortunately, since January 14th and the escape of Ben Ali, reactionary calls that were hiding and did not participate in the revolution have emerged, calling for bringing us back to the slavery stage,” said Al- Nasraoui. “Tunisia would never give up the gains achieved in the field of women’s rights,” she added with confidence.
“Today, we are defending the Personal Status Act and some want to empty its content completely and violate the laws through polygamy, which has become a reality in Tunisia, as well as customary marriages. In addition, some have declared the intention to abolish adoption,” she explained.
“In the past, we demanded strengthening women’s rights to realize full equality, such as equality in inheritance, but today we find ourselves defending what we have acquired instead of demanding strengthening it,” she added.
Nasraoui believed that the Islamic Ennahda Movement, which holds a majority in the National Constituent Assembly, (NCA) constituted a threat to both achievements and rights of women. “I believe that those in power are trying to harm the gains of women, which is evidenced by the proposal – promoted within NCA – to stipulate the complementarity of men and women, while we demand actual equality in all areas,” she said.
Unparalleled Women’s Rights
Women in Tunisia enjoy a human rights situation unparallel in the Arab world thanks to the Personal Status Act issued under late President Habib Bourguiba who ruled Tunisia from 1956 to 1987.
The Act, which is still in force, has withdrawn the attribute of ‘custodian of women’ from men; criminalized customary marriages, forcing girls to get married against their will, and polygamy; and made divorce at the hand of the judiciary; it was previously at the hand of men who pronounced it orally whenever they wished.
In August 2012, under pressure, protests and demonstrations of secular opposition and civil society organizations, NCA Freedoms and Rights Committee withdrew the adoption of a draft law presented by Ennahda, which provided for the principle of “complementarity” of men and women instead of “equality.”
The Coordination and Drafting Authority, in charge of revising the bills to be included in the constitution before being approved by NCA, demanded that Article 28 of the Rights and Freedoms Chapter stipulates: “principle of gender equality, maintaining equal opportunities, with the adoption of efficiency standard,” and “criminalizing violence against women.”
Stronger than Ghannouchi
On the International Women’s Day, thousands of people demonstrated in Tunis to demand the inclusion of women’s rights in the new constitution NCA was drafting. Demonstrators called against the ruling Ennahda and its leader Rashid Ghannouchi. One of those cries was: “Take it easy Ghannoushi! Tunisian women are stronger than you.”
Salma Ferjani, a 17-year-old demonstrator said, “Islamists believe women are but loins. We will not allow them; we are magnificent not loins.”
Ghannoushi reassures
While the dispute over Islamic parties’ acceptance of the legitimacy of holding the presidency or prime ministry by woman continues, Ghannouchi, in an attempt to send a reassuring message, said his party did not mind if women held the presidency of state or government and stressed its keenness in defending the rights of women.
In press statements, Ghannouchi also denied that his party was against women’s or public freedoms, saying, “Since it came to power, Ennahda, contrary to what some media outlets promote, has not shut down bars, demanded that women wear modest clothes, or closed beaches.”
He explained that his party accepted the principle of a fifty-fifty split among women and men in the electoral rolls in the last elections (October 23, 2011), suggesting that 42 out of the NCA’s 49 female members were for Ennahda.
It should be noted that no article in the upcoming draft constitution prevents women from running for the presidency or premiership.
We will maintain “discrimination”
In a sudden position contrary to the assurances that government seeks to send, Minister of Religious Affairs Noureddine Khadmi (a hawk of Ennahda) described the decision to lift the reservation to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) as “inconsistent with the country’s Islamic, Arab identity and is rejected because it violates the principles of state sovereignty, identity, constitution and code of law.”
He even described the decision as “individual and hasty,” stressing that it “was not a decision of institutions.” That statement was made after the many criticisms against non-activation of the decision to lift the reservation to CEDAW, adopted under former Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebsi.
Since Islamists came to power in Tunisia (late 2011), many segments of Tunisian society, including women’s organizations, human rights activists and others expressed fear of losing “women’s gains” and started looking for guarantees to avoid that through legislation and laws concerning women and their statue.
One of the most important guarantees women organizations are desperately trying to acquire is constitutional equality and non-discrimination, but they say their efforts will fail while accusing the Islamists in power of having ill will towards these guarantees and intending to break all their promises before they came to power, despite denying so on several occasions.
