The Equal Rights Evolution of Tunisian Women

By Janet McMahon

Many, if not most, countries in the world have a public or private agency devoted to the needs and status of women. It is probably safe to say—and to guess why—none have a similar body concerning men. Yet it is hard to imagine that many countries have acted as vigorously as has Tunisia on its more than three-decades-old commitment to improve the education, employment and equality of women.

Nor is this solely a matter of idealism: “Tunisia’s wealth lies in its human resources,” notes Prof. Zakia Bouaziz, director general of CREDIF, the Center for Research, Study, Documentation and Information on Women. “It would be sacrilegious to neglect 50 percent of our wealth.”

As so often seems to be the case in this forward-looking country, Tunisia began to implement its reforms immediately upon winning independence from France in 1956. That very year it passed the Personal Status Code outlawing polygamy and repudiation (whereby a husband may divorce his wife simply by announcing his wish to do so).

Three years later, in 1959, Tunisian women achieved political autonomy as well when they gained the right to vote. Reforms continued with the legalization of contraception in 1961.

When President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali assumed power in 1987, he identifed the status of women as one of the major components of his new social program. The following year saw the signing of the National Pact, in which the principle of equality and nondiscrimination between Tunisian men and women was made explicit, and was incorporated as well into the platforms of the country’s political parties. In 1991 schooling was made compulsory for all Tunisian children up to 16 years old.

The Nationality Code was amended in 1993 to allow Tunisian mothers as well as fathers to pass on Tunisian nationality to their children. Also that year, the concept of marriage as a partnership rather than a patriarchal relationship was introduced in the Personal Status Code. In 1996 this concept was extended to joint ownership of marital property.

A visitor to CREDIF headquarters in Tunis quickly realizes that the concepts enumerated above are not merely vague generalities. CREDIF (the acronym is French), established by Law No. 90-78 of Aug. 7, 1990, is the research component of Tunisia’s commitment to develop and utilize the abilities of Tunisian women. CREDIF’s mandate is “to encourage and conduct research on women and their status in Tunisian society as it relates to their contribution to development”; “collect facts and documents...and distribute them so as to improve women’s rights and enlarge the field of their participation as human beings and as citizens”; and “assist the government with the development of policies and programs aimed at improving [women’s] condition.”

To this end, CREDIF compiles and publishes statistics on such topics as “Women and Men in Rural Tunisia” and “Tunisian Women in Figures.” The latter provides information on education and illiteracy rates, reproductive health and fertility, employment, and public and social life. One learns, for example, that the number of women in Tunisia’s civil service has increased from 15,263 (14.4 percent) in 1977 to 97,025 (37.3 percent) in 1994. Or that while 60.1 percent of the students at the Institute of Press and Information Sciences were female in 1996, women constituted only 23.6 percent of professional journalists. Just under half (49.48 percent) of Tunisia’s population are women, with an average life expectancy of 73 years, compared to their male counterparts’ 69.3 years.

With some 60 employees (women and men), CREDIF conducts seminars and studies at its Tunis headquarters, which provides meeting rooms, a library with an extensive periodicals collection, a small restaurant and exhibit space, as well as its research and in-house production offices.

Equally important are the training sessions it offers throughout the country. These on-site sessions aim “to try and assess the situation of rural women,” director general Bouaziz explains, “as well as to assist with agricultural and crafts activities, provide training and supervision, and give rural women a sense of responsiblity and partnership.”

CREDIF is an active participant on the international level as well. Dr. Bouaziz served as the vice chair of the U.N.’s division of women during the 42nd session of the world body, and is a member of the administrative council of the U.N.’s International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW).

Represented by Mme. Emna Aouij, the country’s first woman judge and long-time women’s rights advocate, Tunisia has been elected to a third four-year term on the U.N. Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). In addition to participating in regional African and Mediterranean organizations and conferences, CREDIF also has entered into cooperation agreements with Britain, Canada and Quebec.

Drawing in part on CREDIF’s early research and recommendations, in 1992 President Ben Ali established the Ministry of Women and the Family to coordinate the various components of Tunisia’s efforts on behalf of women.

The creation of the ministry, headed by Mme. Neziha Zarrouk, was in itself symbolic. “Previously women were considered as agents of development, a means to achieve the end of development objectives,” Mme. Zarrouk explained. “Now we are recognized as actors in development.”

Through the development and promotion of an extensive radio, TV and print campaign, the ministry works to bolster the individual programs geared toward women by strengthening the national consensus on the importance of women’s contributions to economic, political and social life. Working with other government ministries as well as with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the ministry monitors progress on resolutions adopted at the 1995 Beijing Conference on Women, helps develop microenterprise and artisan projects in rural areas of the country, and sponsors a national and several regional expositions annually.

CREDIF Director General Bouaziz believes that much of Tunisia’s success, and much of what it has to offer the world, is a result of “Tunisians’ distinct nature, which is an amalgam of many cultures. Our philosophy,” she explained, “is one of a balanced life, and of appreciating the joy of life.

“And,” she concluded, “a policy in favor of women is the best protection against fundamentalism.”