National Situation

Analysis Report:

Women’s Human Rights

and Gender Equality

Tunisia

Enhancing Equality between Men and Women

in the Euromed region (2008-2011)
Programme financed by the European Union

EN
 Enhancing Equality between Men and Women
in the Euromed region (2008-2011)
Programme financed by the European Union

http://www.euromedgenderequality.org/

Translated from French original version

Last update: July 2010
 National Situation
Analysis Report:
Women’s Human Rights
and Gender Equality

Tunisia

Enhancing Equality between Men and Women

in the Euromed Region (2008-2011)
Programme financed by the European Union

“This report has been drafted by independent experts.

It does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.”
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Table of Contents

List of Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1. Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2. Introduction and purposes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

2.1. Programme context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
2.2. Objectives of the situation analysis and expected findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

3. Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

4. National context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

5. Legal framework and national context: Women’s human rights

and equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
5.1. The history of the equality process in Tunisia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
5.2. The national legal framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
5.2.1. The Code of Personal Status and its application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
• The consent of both spouses to marriage, monogamy and divorce. . . . . . . . . . . . 20
• The women’s rights protection bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
• The barriers to non-discrimination and the equal participation of women . . . . . . 24
• Situations ignored by the Code: single mothers and children born
outside of marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.2.2. Economic and social rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
• Application of the principle of non-discrimination in employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.3. The participation of women in decision-making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
5.3.1. The political rights of women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.3.2. The Presidential electoral programmes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.3.3. Progress in political representation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5.4. The autonomy of women: health, education and employment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
5.4.1. Modernisation and demographic indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
5.4.2. Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.4.3. Literacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

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5.4.4. Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.4.5. Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

6. International framework of reference: CEDAW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

6.1. The reservations to CEDAW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
6.2. The advertising and media coverage of the CEDAW report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
6.3. The role of NGOs in preparing reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

7. National Initiatives: Public policies and strategies

for women’s human rights and equality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
7.1. Institutional mechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
7.1.1. The Ministry for Women, the Family, Childhood and the Elderly (MAFFEPA) . . . . . . 46
7.1.2. The National Council For Women, Family and the Elderly (CNFFPA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
7.1.3. The Centre for Research, Studies, Documentation and Information
on Women (CREDIF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
7.1.4. The decentralisation of institutions and facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
7.1.5. Support mechanisms for rural women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
7.1.6. The Observatory for the Tunisian family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
7.1.7. The National Women and Development Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
7.2. Civil society institutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
7.2.1. The Assistant General Secretariat for Women’s Affairs in the Democratic
Constitutional Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
7.2.2. Professional organisations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
7.2.3. Non Governmental Organisations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
• Women’s NGOs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

• Development NGOs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

7.3. Public policy and measures promoting women’s human rights and equality . . . .55
7.3.1. Positive actions for women’s access to decision-making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
7.3.2. The mainstreaming of the gender approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
7.3.3. The MAFFEPA helpline and counselling centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
7.4. Strategies and actions for combating gender-based violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
7.4.1. The absence of specific legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
7.4.2. The national strategy and partnerships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
7.4.3. NGO initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
7.4.4. Combating human trafficking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
7.5. Monitoring and implementing the Istanbul Ministerial Conclusions . . . . . . . . . .63

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8. Analysis of the results and priorities for future action . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

8.1. Main results of the situation analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
8.2. Priorities for future action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
8.2.1. Gender mainstreaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
8.2.2. Combating violence against women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
8.2.3. The promotion of female entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
8.2.4. Increasing capacities and women’s participation in public and political life . . . . . . . . 70

9. Prospects for future action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

10. Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

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List of Acronyms
AFTURD Association of Tunisian Women for Research and Development
APEL Association for the Promotion of Employment and Housing in Rural Areas
ATFD Tunisian Democratic Women’s Association
ATM The Tunisian Mothers’ Association
BTS Tunisian Solidarity Bank
CAWTAR Center for Arab Women Training and Research
CEDAW Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against
Women
CNFFPA The National Council for Women, the Family and the Elderly
CREDIF Centre for Research, Studies, Documentation and Information on Women
CSP Code of Personal Status
CT Labour Code
FTDC Tunisian Federation for Community-Based Development
GBV Gender Based Violence
ICPD International Conference on Population and Development
INS National Statistics Institute
INSTRAW International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement
of Women
JORT Official Gazette of the Republic of Tunisia
MAFFEPA Ministry for Women, the Family, Childhood and the Elderly
MASSTE Ministry for Social Affairs, Solidarity and Tunisians Abroad
ONFP National Office for the Family and Population
OTEF Tunisian Organisation for Education and the Family
PC Penal Code
SDSA The Self-Development Support Association
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNFPA United Nations Population Fund
UNFT National Union of Tunisian Women
UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women

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UTSS Tunisian Social Solidarity Union

WHO World Health Organisation

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1. Executive Summary
The programme “Enhancing Equality between Men & Women in the Euromed Region” (EGEP)
is of three years duration (15 May 2008 – 15 May 2011); it is funded through the European
Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) and is implemented in the nine countries
of the southern part of the European Union (EU) neighbouring area: Algeria, Egypt, Israel,
Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria and Tunisia.

The regional programme aims at promoting the following three purposes:

• Purpose 1: Support and reinforce current dynamics that favour both de jure and de
facto gender equality and that provide support to the promotion of women’s rights in
the region;
• Purpose 2: Improve understanding and knowledge of the various forms of violence against
women;
• Purpose 3: Ensure that the Istanbul Ministerial Conclusions on “Strengthening the role
of women in society” are being followed up.

The present report is implemented under Purpose 1 of the EGEP programme. With a view
to supporting current dynamics and strengthening the capacity of those acting to promote
equality between men and women, Situation Analyses have been conducted in eight partner
countries (Algeria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Occupied Palestinian Territory,
Syria and Tunisia).

The process has been twofold: the drafting of a Situation Analysis Report by a national expert
and the presentation, debating and validation of the findings of the Situation Analysis Report
at a national, multi-stakeholder validation workshop.

The objective of the national report is to conduct a situation analysis of women’s human
rights and gender equality, with an emphasis on legal reforms, the participation of women
in decision-making in public and private life and violence against women. The situation was
assessed and analysed from the following standpoints:

• that of the policies, strategies and programmes implemented at different levels, illustra-
ting the degree of political will;
• that of the results in the different sectors through strategies and programmes (including
indicators and statistics), attesting to the progress achieved and the efforts needed;
• that of the actors, both from a sectoral and transversal perspective.

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The methodology used for the situation analysis was based on an examination of the pri-
mary and secondary sources as well as on evaluation interviews with the service providers.

Main findings: the progress and limitations

The situation analysis of gender equality in Tunisia showed that equality legislation has
evolved over the years in such a way that women’s rights have advanced in family law and
in the social, economic, political and cultural domains. These advances in the area of gen-
der made Tunisian legislation in favour of women a pioneering experiment which remained
unique in the Arab-Muslim context for a long time.

Among other international instruments, Tunisia has ratified/adopted CEDAW, the Beijing
Platform, the Conclusions of the Istanbul Ministerial Conference and the Optional Protocol
to CEDAW. However, although the Constitution provides that all citizens are equal, it does
not contain a definition of discrimination in accordance with Article I of CEDAW. Even the
revised Code of Personal Status still contains examples of discrimination against women
and the reservations to CEDAW remain. These notably concern laws relating to marriage
between a Muslim woman and a non-Muslim, inheritance law, the Nationality Code and the
concept of patriarchy (the husband as head of the family).

The progress regarding the application of laws shows increasing equality in education and
health but gaps remain between urban and rural areas. The illiteracy rate is higher among
women, across all areas, and women’s access to the labour market remains marked by wage
discrimination and discrimination in access to decision-making positions. That said, the impact
of family planning on the emancipation of women is obvious: fertility has declined and age
at marriage has increased.

The participation of women in the three powers has experienced a clear evolution. Women
are increasingly represented in senior posts, ministerial offices, advisory bodies and diplomatic
functions. Women are also gaining ground at local government level. However, these rates are
only around 10-20% and few women are appointed to executive positions. Only five women
are presidents of municipalities. Women have made more significant inroads when access
to decision making is more closely linked to merit, as is the case at the level of the judiciary.

The low presence of women in the legislative and the executive reflects their low political
involvement and their limited presence in the governing bodies of political parties. The
participation of women remains marginal in most cases.

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Even though it has not adopted laws on quotas, the increase in the number of women in
public decision-making in Tunisia is related to political will and government guidelines on
affirmative action.

In terms of public policy, Tunisian women have also benefited from a favourable national
context marked by:

• the continuing consolidation process of women’s rights initiated by the reformist move-
ment and President Bourguiba;
• the interest given to the institutional arrangement demonstrated, inter alia, by the creation
of a Ministry responsible for Women’s Affairs, which has seen its powers increase over
the years and by committees and observatories;
• the integration of gender into the development planning process and its widespread
acceptance, which made it possible to translate equality into clear objectives;
• the use of affirmative action.

The gender approach translates itself into the implementation of a national strategy and a
strategy for combating violence against women. The adoption of the gender approach by the
various departments is neither linear nor identical, however, and there are no monitoring and
evaluation measures. In addition, the lack of human and financial resources available to the
Ministry (MAFFEPA) and the lack of disaggregated data by gender consequently constitute
barriers to implementing a policy of gender equality.

Stereotypes were cited by the actors interviewed as the main cause of the gap which exists
between the legislative texts and the reality of women’s status at all levels. The studies have
shown that the distribution of tasks between men and women is still done according to a
traditional view.

The establishment of a communication strategy aiming to eradicate the stereotypes prevalent

in the private sphere and in the public sphere seems necessary in this regard. This must take
the ambiguity of the value systems conveyed by Tunisian culture into consideration: a moder-
nist system open to the outside and looking in particular towards the Northern shore of the
Mediterranean and another system with its roots in Tunisia’s Arab-Muslim patriarchal system.

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National priorities and perspectives

for future action
In light of the findings, the report identifies the following priorities:

• gender mainstreaming
• combating violence against women
• promoting female entrepreneurship
• increasing capacities and women’s participation in public and political life

The perspectives for future action put forward by the report result from the situation analysis,
from interviews conducted with certain players and from the validation workshop held in
Tunis. These perspectives relate to the following points:

• The removal of the reservations to CEDAW and the “effective” implementation of certain
provisions of the Convention;
• The strengthening of the mechanisms for implementing and monitoring the Istanbul
Conference and the Euromed process;
• The adoption of a specific law on violence against women and the strengthening of
measures to implement the strategy;
• The creation of networking among gender focal points; the amendment of the Code of
Personal Status in favour of gender equality; and the guarantee of greater visibility of
gender in the media;
• The involvement of civil society and the NGOs in the Euro-Mediterranean coordination;
• The studying of the impact of the financial crisis on the situation of women and the
handling of the religious extremism that threatens the advances gained by women and
their emancipation.

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2. Introduction and purposes

2.1. Programme context

The regional programme “Enhancing Equality between Men and Women in the Euromed
region” (EGEP) has been developed within the framework of the Istanbul Ministerial Conclu-
sions on “Strengthening the Role of Women in Society” and is of three years duration
(May 2008 - May 2011). It is funded through the European Neighbourhood and Partnership
Instrument (ENPI) of the European Union (EU). The programme is implemented in the nine
countries of the southern part of the EU neighbouring area: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan,
Lebanon, Morocco, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Syria and Tunisia.

The overall objective of the programme is to enhance equality between men and women
by strengthening the capacities of key players, particularly the States, and by supporting
existing positive trends and dynamics relating to women’s role in decision-making in the
public as well as in the private domain, and to follow up the Istanbul Ministerial Conclusions.

The programme is based on the following three main purposes:

• Purpose 1: Support and reinforce current dynamics that favour both de jure and de
facto gender equality and that provide support to the promotion of women’s rights in
the region;
• Purpose 2: Improve understanding and knowledge of the various forms of violence against
women;
• Purpose 3: Ensure that the Istanbul Ministerial Conclusions on “Strengthening the role
of women in society” are being followed up.

With a view to supporting current dynamics and strengthening the capacity of those acting
to promote equality between men and women, Situation Analyses have been conducted in
eight partner countries (Algeria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, Syria and Tunisia).

The process has been twofold: on the one hand the drafting of a Situation Analysis Report
by a national expert and on the other hand the presentation, debating and validation of the
findings of the Situation Analysis Report at a national, multi-stakeholder validation workshop.

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2.2. Objectives of the situation analysis

and expected findings
The overall objective of the national report is to conduct a situation analysis of women’s
human rights and gender equality, with an emphasis on legal reforms, the participation of
women in decision-making in public and private life and violence against women.

The specific objective of this report is to provide an inventory of the national efforts to achieve
gender equality. The report identifies how women have progressed within the economic,
political and social spheres through national programmes, legislation and other interven-
tion strategies. The analysis was conducted through the prism of CEDAW and the Istanbul
Ministerial Conclusions and also identifies the challenges, obstacles and opportunities as
well as the priorities for future action.

The situation was evaluated and analysed from the following standpoints:

• that of the policies, strategies and programmes implemented at different levels, illustra-
ting the degree of political will;
• that of the results in the different sectors through strategies and programmes (including
indicators and statistics), attesting to the progress achieved and the efforts needed;
• that of the actors, both from a sectoral and transversal perspective.

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3. Methodology
The general methodology adopted to conduct the situation analysis was based on a docu-
mentary examination of the secondary sources and on rapid assessment interviews with
stakeholders as primary sources. The analysis of the findings of both the documentary review
and the rapid assessment was incorporated into the provisions of CEDAW and the Istanbul
Ministerial Conclusions.

The aim of the situation analysis was not to prepare new assessments but rather to create
an inventory and bring together the existing information to allow State actors, civil society
organisations and other regional and international partners to ensure consistency and rein-
force synergies of efforts and interventions. Interviews were conducted with a representative
sample of stakeholders to assess the efforts made and the challenges faced in promoting
women’s human rights at the national level.

In the final stage of the situation analysis process, a national validation workshop was orga-
nised to allow the stakeholders to debate and validate the findings of the situation analysis
and to agree on a set of national priorities. The planning and organisation of the workshop
was conducted under the direction of and/or with the close collaboration of the National
Women’s Machinery to ensure a process of ownership and commitment at a national level.
The workshop brought together representatives of the Women’s Machineries, sectoral Minis-
tries, parliamentarians, researchers, civil society and women’s organisations, journalists and
representatives of donor agencies. The findings of the report were debated and validated
with all the participants to build a consensus on the findings, priorities and perspectives for
future actions.

The national findings of the situation analysis and the national priorities, validated by the
national workshops, were presented and debated at the regional roundtable organised in
Brussels on 15-17 March 2010. The roundtable brought together representatives from the
southern and northern Mediterranean countries with the objective of sharing, discussing and
finalising the national situation analysis reports and the regional compilation report based
on the national reports.

The specific approach for drafting the report used different sources of information to draw
up a progress report on the gender equality process in Tunisia. Amongst others: a review
of the literature including Tunisia’s reports to the CEDAW Committee, reports relating to
the Istanbul Ministerial Conference, the achievements of the Beijing Platform (Beijing +5,
+10 and +15 (in progress), its reports to the United Nations High Commission for Human
Rights, as well as the reports of the Women and Development Planning Commission chaired

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by MAFFEPA; the publications of the Ministry for Women, the Family, Childhood and the
Elderly and of the Centre for Research, Studies, Documentation and Information on Women
(CREDIF) – especially the reports published by the CREDIF Observatory for the Status of
Women – the seminar reports, reviews, brochures, statistics and the MAFFEPA information
portal on Tunisian women as well as the CREDIF website. On the other hand, a series of
interviews were conducted with key actors from the government, civil society and donors
or their representatives.

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4. National context
Since gaining independence in 1956, Tunisia has focused on the promotion of its human
resources to ensure its economic and social development. It has almost 10.2 million inhabi-
tants. In 2007, the GDP per capita was estimated at about 4,415 TND, or € 2,520. Economic
growth has thus enabled a significant improvement in the income of the population and
the gradual emergence of a middle class. Despite strong economic growth, the unemploy-
ment rate remains around 14%. Unemployment is higher amongst young people, especially
young graduates, whose unemployment rate exceeds the average rate by approximately
three per cent.

Constitution and political structure

Tunisia has been a Republic since 1957. Promulgated on 1 June 1959 and amended in 1976,
1988 and 2002, the Tunisian Constitution established a representative democracy based on
the universal suffrage. The Constitution guarantees equality between women and men, fun-
damental rights and civil liberties and establishes the organisation of the public authorities.

President Ben Ali has been in power since 1987. He was re-elected for a fifth term as President
on 25 October 2009. Parliamentary elections gave the majority to the presidential party (RDC).

Development
Over the last four decades, development has caused profound structural changes at the
economic and social levels. The main achievements can be summarized as follows:

• improvement in real income per capita of 125 percent over the past four decades, this
has led to a marked improvement in living conditions, since the proportion of families
living below the poverty line decreased from 75% just after independence in 1956 to
3.9% in 2006;
• diversification of the economy with the emergence of new industrial sectors and the
declining share of agriculture, the latter constituting the core sector of the economy in
the 1950s;
• extension of communal life, especially by urban development: nearly 63.4% of the total
population lived in urban areas in 2002, compared to only 33% in 1956;
• significant improvement in life expectancy, which is currently 73 years of age compared
to only 47 years of age in the 1950s;

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• reduction of the illiteracy rate of the population aged ten and above, from 85% in 1956
to 7% in 2002 thanks to the development of teaching, education, training and new deve-
lopment approaches, notably that of local development tested in disadvantaged zones
and districts by the National 26-26 Solidarity Programme.

Euromed-Tunisia Relations
Tunisia affirms its Mediterranean dimension through its participation in the Mediterranean
Forum, its involvement in the “5+5” dialogue and its active role in the Euro-Mediterranean
process. It aims to strengthen its foothold in the European Union, its main partner, with which
it conducts almost 80% of its trade.

Tunisian-European relations go back a long way: Tunisia and the European Union established
a trade relationship in 1976. Tunisia was the first of the Mediterranean countries to sign an
Association Agreement with the EU on July 17th, 1995, supplemented and complemented
by the Neighbourhood Action Plan (NAP) between Tunisia and the EU, which was adopted
in July 2005 in the context of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). Economic and
commercial cooperation is a central pillar of this partnership and of the integration process.
Tunisia was also one of the first countries to support the Union for the Mediterranean project.

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5. Legal framework and national

context: Women’s human rights
and equality

5.1. The history of the equality process

in Tunisia
The emancipation of women, begun in the early twentieth century by the reformist move-
ment, was continued by independent Tunisia thanks to its leader Habib Bourguiba, the first
President of the Republic of Tunisia, with the passing of the Code of Personal Status (CPS),
on August 13th 1956. Tunisia thereby began a social reform reconciling modernity and
authenticity.

Promulgated on June 1st 1959, the Constitution affirms equality before the law for all citizens
and opens the way for subsequent laws gradually to give fundamental rights to women in all
domains: eligibility and the right to vote, the right to work, the right to free education and
to social protection, the right to contract, etc.

In the framework of the strengthening of the foundations of good governance initiated by

Tunisia, the law was reinforced as regards the social, economic, political and cultural rights
of women, the institutional system implemented for the application of these rights and other
measures taken to achieve equal opportunities. The promotion of women’s rights is part of
the Presidential Programme for the future.

Tunisia’s commitment to equality also stems from its adherence to the majority of interna-
tional conventions related to issues of equality as well as the various international confe-
rences that punctuated the last decade of the twentieth century: the Vienna Convention on
Human Rights, the Cairo Conference on Population and Development, the Copenhagen
Conference on Social Development and the Beijing Conference on Women. Tunisia ratified
the Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1985
which was published in the JORT in 1991 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in
1992. It joined the Beijing Platform in 1995 and is committed to enhancing women’s status
by adopting a national action programme to promote gender equality. At a Mediterranean
level, Tunisia has signed the recommendations of the Barcelona Conference and also adhered
to the Ministerial Conclusions of the Istanbul Conference.

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Consequently, three steps punctuate the establishment of the gender equality process in
Tunisia:

• the pre-independence phase, marked by the birth of the Tunisian feminist movement, then
represented by the association of Muslim Women created in the wake of the struggle for
independence and encouraged by the founding principles of the reformist movement,
whose first claim was the right to education for girls. The movement’s activities were
mainly implemented in the context of charitable works. It was not until the mid-1940s
that women began to take part in “public life” by rubbing shoulders with the activists of
the movement for independence and by participating in the freedom movement.
• The post-independence phase, marked by three major developments, namely:
– a policy of emancipation of women characterised by three achievements: (1) the
Code of Personal Status (CSP), promulgated on August 13th, 1956, which abolished
polygamy, instituted official civil marriage and legal divorce and established a new
family structure based on the equality of the spouses before the law; (2) the family
planning policy based on a restriction of the birth rate and (3) literacy programmes
opening the way to education and participation in development for men and women.
– the Constitution, promulgated on June 1st 1959, which states in Article 6 that: “all
citizens have equal rights and duties. They are equal before the law“, thereby opening
the way for subsequent laws gradually granting fundamental rights to women in all
domains: eligibility and the right to vote, the right to work, the right to free education,
the right to social protection, the right to conclude contracts, etc.
– the signing of the Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against
Women. This adherence will consolidate women’s rights given the supremacy of the rights
enshrined in the Convention over Tunisian law, especially after it was ratified in 1991.

• The post-change phase, marked by:

– the continuation of the process started by the reformist movement and President
Bourguiba through the consolidation of women’s rights. In this respect, the consti-
tutional amendments of 1993 reveal the will of the authorities to move forward on
the road to equality.
– the interest given to the institutional system and shown by the creation of a ministry
responsible for the promotion of women, which has seen its powers increase over
the years.
– the adoption of gender as a policy leading to the establishment of de facto equality.
The gender approach has been on the agenda of the five-yearly development plans
for Tunisia since 1991, i.e. with the preparation of the 8th Plan (1992-1996). The inte-
gration of gender into the development planning process (gender mainstreaming)
and its widespread acceptance have helped to translate equality into clear objectives.
Some of these goals have even been quantified.

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– the use of affirmative action in order to reduce the gap between women and men
observed in some sectors (i.e. the area of participation in political and public life).

These choices ensured that Tunisia obtained a respectable ranking as regards the enhance-
ment of women, notably in the report on “gender gaps”1 providing information on economic,
legal and social aspects of the gaps between men and women observed in each country.
Tunisia is ranked second amongst Arab countries and 103rd overall.

Ranking of Tunisia in the Global Gender Gap Report 2008

Economic
Health
Overall participation Level of Political
Country and
ranking and education empowerment
survival
opportunities
103 113 93 95 73
Tunisia
0.6295 0.4757 0.9619 0.9697 0.1105

Source: Global Gender Gap Report 2008

5.2. The national legal framework

Tunisian women enjoy favourable and egalitarian laws, both in the private and public sphere,
thanks to the passing of the Code of Personal Status in 1956 and of the Constitution in 1959,
which established equality as the foundation of legislation. The rights acquired by women
in economic, political and cultural fields have been reinforced by social achievements that
enabled women to decide over their own bodies, to choose the number of births they wanted,
to be educated, to contribute to development by accessing the labour market very early and
by participating in decision-making, including politics.

5.2.1. The Code of Personal Status and its application

The Code of Personal Status (CSP) has granted some significant rights to women in the family.

The consent of both spouses to marriage, monogamy and divorce

The family consists of spouses who are, in principle, freely chosen, since marriage can take
place only with their consent. The CSP puts an end to an ancient practice, that of forced

1
Global Gender Gap Report, World Economic Forum, Geneva, 2008

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marriage or the right of Jebr, which consists of the father or guardian obliging his unmar-
ried daughter to marry. Currently, any intervention by the father or guardian in the choice
of husband for the young woman/girl or when the marriage contract is concluded is invalid,
since no alternative to freely and personally expressed will is possible except, of course, as
provided for by the law. This is the case in a marriage between minors for whom the guar-
dian’s consent is considered a condition for the validity of the marriage.

Only one condition is provided for by Article 5 of the Code. This is that the two future spouses
must not be subject to one of the impediments stipulated by law. Nevertheless for women,
and in the light of an interpretation of this Article by the courts, the choice of a husband comes
up against a very tricky problem, that of disparity of faith. Despite the silence of the Code in
this regard and the lack of a ban on women marrying non-Muslims, the fact remains that the
judicial authorities have interpreted the notion of legal impediment to marriage as stipulated
by law as meaning legal impediments stipulated by Islamic law. This has led to an absolute
ban on Muslim women marrying non-Muslim men and has enabled some authors to affirm
that the law’s silence on the matter should be interpreted as an application of the rules of
Islamic law and in particular those of the Maliki rite. The social reality and the ever increasing
number of mixed-nationality and mixed-religion marriages has led to an increasing number of
unions using circuitous routes such as marriage abroad or the husband’s conversion to Islam.

The age of marriage is an important contribution of the Code. Since the passing of the
Code and particularly since 1964, and then since 2008, the marriage of minors and early
marriage have been abolished and the age for marriage has been standardised; it has been
increased to 18 years of age for both spouses2. The restriction on the age of marriage has
contributed to pushing back the age of marriage, improved the access of girls to education
and the labour market and protected the health of women and children.

Another, equally important, contribution should be mentioned primarily due to the uni-
queness of Tunisia: this relates to monogamous marriage which was introduced in 1956
pursuant to Article 18 of the Code3, which prohibits polygamy and makes it punishable by law.

The acknowledgement of a woman’s right to manage her own property should also be noted
amongst all these contributions, as pursuant to Article 24 of the Code of Personal Status

2
See Art. 5 para. 2 of the Code amended by the decree law n°64-1 of 20 February 1964 and by law n°2007-32 of
14 May 2007. Article 5 of the Code nevertheless stipulates that “both future spouses should be free of all legal impediment.
In addition, any one of the two future spouses who has not attained eighteen years of age may not marry. Below this
age, the marriage may not be concluded except by virtue of special authorisation by a judge who will only grant this
for serious reasons and in the interest of the future spouses”
3
According to Article 18: “Polygamy is prohibited. Anyone who having been contracted in marriage, should conclude
another before the dissolution of the preceding one, may be punished by imprisonment of one year and a fine of
240,000 francs or one of these two penalties, even if the new marriage was not contracted in accordance with the law...”

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“the husband does not have any administrative power over the property belonging to the
woman”. This provision is based on the Islamic rule that ignores the theory of matrimonial
systems for safeguarding the property belonging to the traditional family and protecting it
against the risks of appropriation by a husband who is a stranger to the wife’s family. Also
in the spirit of Islamic law, the Code gives the possibility for both future spouses, pursuant
to Article 11, “to include in the marriage deed, any clause or condition relating to persons
and property. In the event of non-fulfilment of the condition or a breach of the clause, the
marriage may be dissolved by divorce.” In terms of property, this article gives both spouses
the flexibility to choose another arrangement than that of the separation of property and to
manage their property according to the system of communal estate comprising only property
acquired after marriage.

Also since 1956, divorce is an acknowledged right for both spouses and may only be pro-
nounced by the courts. There is no possibility for repudiation or unilateral divorce based solely
on the husband’s will. This equality, granted to both spouses by the legislature, puts Tunisia
in an avant-gardist position compared to Arab-Muslim States where unilateral repudiation by
the husband, non-recourse to the courts for divorce and the use of the Kholôo procedure are
sometimes the rule. The innovations introduced in this field lie in the possibility for the man
or the woman to submit the petition for divorce in three events: in the event of the mutual
consent of the spouses, at the request of one of the spouses due to damage suffered by
him/her, or at the request of the husband or the wife (capricious divorce).

All these women’s rights are reinforced by certain measures supporting the CSP. Amongst
the most important measures that were adopted, we should note the introduction of the
communal estate system. Since 1998, a new law has governed the situation of estate
between spouses4 by making it possible “to make one building or a collection of buildings
the indivisible property of the spouses if they are intended for family use”.5 In principle, the
communal estate system between spouses is a very important innovation. It guarantees
women the acquisition of part of the estate purchased during the marriage, limiting their
impoverishment specifically in the event of a divorce and the dissolution of the marriage.
However, this system is not compulsory in nature, as the legislator was content with granting
it as an optional system which the spouses could choose when the marriage was concluded
or at a later date.6 Everything depends on the will of both spouses and their agreement,
which must be established by a certified deed if it occurs after the marriage certificate.7

4
Law n°98-91 of 9 November 1998 relating to the communal estate system between spouses. JORT p. 225
5
See Article 1 of the law
6
Pursuant to the first Article of this law, the communal estate system is an optional system which the spouses may
chose when the marriage contract is concluded or at a later date.
7
According to the terms of Article 8 of the law.

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Adoption was established by the law of 4 March 1958. It is granted to men and women under
the same conditions, namely coming of age, marriage, full enjoyment of civil capacity, good
morality, good physical and mental health and the guarantee of the means to meet of the
needs of the adopted child. In some cases, the judge may exempt a widowed or divorced
person wanting to adopt from the condition of marriage always under the condition that the
causes and conditions of the adoption will be assessed on the basis of all useful information
and taking the child’s interests into account.8

Abortion was introduced into Tunisian law as a right in the first years of independence. Res-
trictions were first lifted in 1965 for women who were mothers of five living children and if the
foetus had not exceeded three months gestation; abortion was definitively organised by the
decree law of 26 September 1973. The right to abortion contributed to increasing women’s
freedom to decide over their bodies and on the number of children they desired, allowing
them to create a better balance between her family life (private) and professional life (public).

The women’s rights protection bodies

Parallel to the bodies working to enhance women’s rights at different levels and in different
sectors, Tunisia created a series of specific bodies with a view to protecting and enhancing
women’s rights in accordance with the spirit of CEDAW and the recommendations of Istanbul.
These mechanisms include:

The family judge: created in accordance with the terms of the new Article 32 of the CSP, he
is appointed by the President of the Court of First Instance from amongst its vice-presidents
to lead reconciliation attempts and to ensure the smooth running of legal divorce procee-
dings. This judge must personally ensure that the spouses concerned are issued with the
notifications relating to the evolution of the proceedings. This provision aims to eliminate all
possibility of divorce by default, notably by guaranteeing the wife the right to be informed
of the proceedings in progress. The same Article established a dissuasive measure to abo-
lish all malicious manipulation and to discourage any attempts to obstruct the legal divorce
proceedings, of which women are generally the victims. The reform of the stages of legal
divorce proceedings was inspired by a desire for better protection for women, children and
the family.

The guarantee fund for maintenance and annuities: established pursuant to law n° 93-65
of 5 July 1993, it is funded by a contribution from the State budget and managed by the
National Social Security Fund (CNSS). It is responsible for distributing the amounts of pen-
sions or annuities that have been the subject of firm rulings and which could not be paid to
the divorcees and their children by the party ruled against, due to their stubbornness; this is

8
See article 9 paragraph 2, 3 and 4 of the law.

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under the conditions stipulated by the law that created the said fund (Article 53 of the CSP).
An ad hoc commission was formed at the level of the Prime Ministry in order to evaluate
the impact of the fund and to examine the problems inherent in the application of the law
which created it. The situation analysis showed that 9,735 families benefited from it between
its creation in 1998 and 2007.

Child protection delegates: Article 28 of the Child Protection Code (C.P.E) stipulates the
creation of the position of child protection delegate in each governorate, with the possibility
of creating one or several more positions in the same governorate, depending on requi-
rements and population density. Pursuant to Article 35, the child protection delegate has
the authority to carry out investigations, to take urgent and suitable measures in favour of
the child and to draw up a report which is submitted to the family judge. In the event of a
threat, the child protection delegate may decide either to leave the child in the family, while
taking all the measures necessary to remove the source of the threat, or to place the child
temporarily in a foster family or any other appropriate social and educational institution.
The C.P.E. has established a “duty to report” for all persons, including those bound by
professional secrecy, with a view to notifying the child protection delegate of anything that
“may pose a threat to the health of the child or its physical or moral integrity in accordance
with the paragraphs (d and c) of Article 20 of this Code” (habitual maltreatment of the child,
sexual exploitation of a boy or a girl).

The barriers to non-discrimination and the equal participation of women

The inequalities that persist in the CSP can be identified with manifestations of patriarchy.
These are:

The dowry (Articles 12 and 13 of the CSP) is a condition of the validity and consummation
of the marriage. It is an illustration of this inequality and reflects patriarchal practices and
traditions and relationships of domination in the family, as it is the husband who has to pay
it to his wife in return for the consummation of the marriage. Although the political authori-
ties have attempted to reduce its amount, it nevertheless remains a form of discrimination
against women.

Keeping family authority in the hands of the father, who is the head of the family and holds
the monopoly on family authority. He gives his name to the family and unconditionally gives
his nationality to his children. His domicile is that of his family. No changes have affected
this monopoly since 1956. Nevertheless in the neighbouring Maghreb countries, in Morocco
in 2004 and Algeria in 2005, the father’s authority was abolished and replaced by parental
authority over the family.

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Nevertheless, although the father continues to be the head of the family, one of his corollaries
was abolished by the Tunisian legislator, that of the wife’s duty of obedience to her husband.
Until 19939, obedience was linked to the husband’s duty to treat his wife with kindness,
which placed the burden on women and confined her to a situation of submission towards
him, depriving her of any sense of initiative and responsibility within the family. Currently,
since the removal of this duty of obedience, “both spouses must fulfil their conjugal duties
in accordance with the traditions and customs”. This is, certainly, an improvement over the
former provision in the Code but the fact of having to ensure, according to the terms of the
law “accordance with the traditions and customs” in the fulfilment of conjugal duties is all
the more equivocal, as these customs and traditions almost always refer to the ancestral
practice and ancient traditions that reflect the dominant, patriarchal social order and in a
sense the superiority of men over women despite the, albeit slow, change in mentalities.

With the introduction of the concept of cooperation between spouses in 1993, marriage
gives the woman the right “to cooperate with her spouse in conducting family affairs”. As a
consequence of this, the woman will share some responsibilities together with the husband
vis-à-vis underage children. She participates in the marriage of her underage child.10 In
the event of divorce she is, generally, awarded custody. Nevertheless, conditions must be
fulfilled for the granting of such custody, including not being married or being married but
retaining custody if the judge believes that this is in the interest of the child, if the husband
is related to a prohibited degree to the child or is its guardian or if the custody-holder fails
to claim this right for a year after learning the marriage has been consummated11. In 2008,
and again in order to protect divorced women who have custody, the CSP was amended to
recognise the right of mothers with custody of their children to remain in the premises if the
father, who owns the premises, is required to house her with the child12.

With regard to guardianship, when the code was passed, it was almost always attributed to the
father or the male guardian, with the exception of the event of the death or incapacity of the
father, when guardianship would then pass to the mother and would cover all areas except that
of marriage13. Since 1993, women have enjoyed certain guardianship prerogatives in relation to

9
See paragraph 2 of Art. 23 modified by law n°93-74 of 12 July 1993
10
Pursuant to Article 6 of the Code amended in 1993 by law n°93-74 of 12 July 1993, “the marriage of a minor is
subject to the consent of the father or guardian and the mother”.
11
These are the terms of Article 58 of the Code
12
Law n°2008-20 of 4 March 2008 amending certain provisions of the Code of Personal Status (Article 56). JORT n°21
of 11 March 2008, p. 883
13
In this regard, Article 8 of the Code explicitly stipulates that it is “the closest agnate relation who must consent to
the marriage of the minor. He must be of good mind, of the male sex, and have come of age.”

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the education, travel and financial transactions of children14. If custody of the child was granted
to the mother after a divorce, she continues to benefit from the prerogatives of guardianship
as regards the child’s travel, its studies and the management of its financial accounts15. Despite
its importance, this guardianship is not automatic. It remains connected to the situation of the
father, whether he is alive, absent or dead and remains contingent on the will of the judge who
will make his decision taking the interests of the child into account. In all cases, it is not consi-
dered as a right inherent to the status of the mother but as a right, the exercising of which is
conditional and never challenges the authority of the father as the head of the family.

The other inequality that should be mentioned relates to the law of succession. Despite the
measures introduced, such as the law on communal estate, the CSP maintains the privilege
of masculinity in the division of succession according to gender by applying the Islamic rule
that grants men double the women’s share16, even if the justifications for this inequality have
disappeared as a result of women’s access to professional life and their almost widespread
participation in the household expenses and as a result of the different amendments to the
Code which were insistent about obliging women to provide for their family if they had any
property.17 Until now, one of the changes made is that which took place in 1959 and which
led to the granting girls the possibility of ousting from the succession of their parents certain
agnatic heirs of the category of brothers, paternal uncles and their descendants as well as
the Treasury. These are the new provisions of Article 143 b of the Code.

In 2006, another text was also created to relax, or even circumvent the rule of unequal suc-
cession such as the rule exonerating gifts between ascendants and descendants and between
spouses. This technique aims at guaranteeing the transfer of property by circumventing the
strict rules of succession, as it takes place during the lifetime of the parties and may conse-
quently result from their own will and their deliberate choice to grant equal parts to their
children of both sexes as a free transfer of property. This is consequently an opportunity to
circumvent the legal obstacles.

The legislator has given women the right to pass on their nationality to their children since
1993, but this is conditional on the prior consent of the father18, or in the event of negligence
on the part of the father or his absence, from 2002.

14
After the amendment of Article 23 of the CSP, paragraph 3 states that both spouses: “shall cooperate in the
conducting of family affairs, good parenting of the children, as well as the management of the latter’s affairs, including
education, travel and financial transactions”
15
Paragraph 4 Article 67 of the CSP
16
Article 103 of the Code. See S. Bouraoui, the constant inequality between the sexes or the conflict between domestic
law and international conventions.RTD1983, p. 425
17
According to Article 23 last paragraph, “women must contribute to the family costs if they own property”
18
The Nationality Code was amended in 1993 to allow women to give their nationality to their children after having
obtained the consent of the father (see Article 6 of the new Nationality Code)

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Situations ignored by the Code: single mothers and children born outside of marriage

These mothers are not only subject to discrimination and inequality, they are primarily not
recognised by the legislator and bear the weight of ancient customs and patriarchal tradi-
tions that do not ‘legally’ allow the existence of sexual relations outside of marriage. They
are socially marginalised and unrecognised due to a legal vacuum and the absence of rules
that protect both the mother and her so-called “natural” child. According to the hadith, “the
child must be attached to the Firash, the lover must be stoned”19. The concept of the Firash
was defined by the judge as meaning lawful marriage irrespective of how it is concluded.
This appears to bar the way to any possibility of recognition.

However, the legislator has found ways to recognise the rights of natural children and, as a
priority, of those who have been abandoned. In 1998, pursuant to a new law, it decided to
allocate a surname to these children. Thus “the mother who has custody of her underage
child whose parentage is unknown must give it a name and her surname or request autho-
risation to do so in accordance with the provisions regulating civil status”.

The Code of Personal Status holds a special place and serves as the basis for the modernist
politics of the State, for responding to human rights’ violations and the principles it contains
have been endowed with a constitutional value in the same way as the values of the Republic,
the sovereignty of the people and human rights since the constitutional amendments of
1997 and 2002. But even if the legislator has innovated in many cases by freeing itself from
religious rules, thanks to the use of exegesis, and by setting standards in accordance with
developments in the real status of women, it has not managed to challenge the patriarchal
order which is stamped with religiosity and maintains various inequalities in relation to women.
This explains why reservations have been formulated against international conventions, par-
ticularly the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

5.2.2. Economic and social rights

Since the enactment of the Tunisian Constitution, on June 1st 1959, women’s work, like
that of men, has been considered one of the achievements and guarantees of the republi-
can government, even though the Constitution has not as yet recognised the principle of
non-discrimination between the sexes, merely stating in Article 6 “that all citizens are equal
before the law”. In the wake of the CSP, a law was adopted that is an important symbol of
modernity, namely the law of 1958 which made widespread free education for children of
both sexes, without any discrimination and which helped to achieve the right to work.

19
Cass.civil. n°4393 of 6 January 1981.RJL1981 n°2 p. 61

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The Tunisian government has implemented the principle of non-discrimination between the
sexes through the ratification of international conventions20 and the adoption of social legislation.

In the Tunisian administration, which applies Civil Service Law, the principle of non-discrimi-
nation between the sexes goes back to the 1983 law which stipulates in Article 11 that: “sub-
ject to special provisions necessitated by the nature of positions and that may applied in
this respect, no distinction is made between the two sexes for the application of this law”.
Recognition of this principle will result in the prevalence of equal admissibility principles for
all in recruitment, equal treatment throughout the career or at its end and equal pay. The
legislator has, however, provided for some exceptions. It is permitted to differentiate between
the sexes due to the nature of the position and this opens the path to restrictions unfavourable
to women. The most flagrant example is that of job recruitment processes reserved for men
for recruitment in certain job categories such as, for instance, the profession of postman.

In the private and para-Statal sectors, it can be noted that the Labour Code did not include
the principle of non-discrimination between the sexes when it was enacted in 1966. It was
in 1973 that the Collective Framework Agreement, as an agreement concluded between
employers and workers’ organisations concerning working conditions, guaranteed this prin-
ciple in relation to women’s rights by stipulating that “this agreement is applicable without
distinction to workers of either sex. Young girls and women who fulfil the required conditions
may access all jobs on the same grounds as young and adult men, without discrimination in
classifications and remuneration”. In 1993, an Article 5 bis was added to the Labour Code
explicitly to include this principle, stating that “there may not be any discrimination between
men and women in the application of the provisions of this Code and the texts for its appli-
cation”. Contrary to Article 11 of the Civil Service Law, it leaves no room for exemptions.

In relation to specific situations and in order to protect working women, they were granted
specific rights to consolidate the principle of non-discrimination. In this way, Tunisian labour
law included the provisions of the International Convention of the International Labour Orga-
nisation on the prohibition of women working in underground environments and in areas
of establishments and sites where the recovery, transformation or storage of scrap metals
takes place.

Legislation has stipulated rules for pregnancy and maternity for women. Pregnant women
may terminate their employment contract without a period of notice and without having to
pay compensation for breach of contract and this even if they are in a non-statutory and

20
Such is the case with the International Labour Organisation Conventions such as Convention n°100 concerning equal
remuneration for male and female labourers for work of equal value (1951), Convention n°111 concerning discrimination
in terms of employment and professions (1985), Convention n°118 concerning equal treatment (social security) (1962),
Convention n°122 concerning employment policy (1964) and Convention n°19 on equal treatment (accidents at work).

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contractual situation. In the same way, a woman’s illness due to pregnancy or following
childbirth may not be used as grounds for a termination of the employment contract on the
part of the employer, under penalty of damages payable to the woman. Working women
have the right to maternity leave of 30 days, which may be extended twice on production of a
medical certificate if they work in the private or para-Statal sectors and to two months’ leave
if they work in the public sector. This, very limited, leave (eight weeks), is always postnatal
and may not be combined with prenatal leave. This explains why Tunisia has not ratified the
International Labour Organisation Conventions on this subject since Convention n°3 (1919),
to Convention n°103 (1952) and Convention n°183 (2000), which has extended the period
of maternity leave from twelve weeks to fourteen weeks with the requirement of granting
prenatal leave. When she is breastfeeding, a working mother has the right to breastfeeding
leave of up to two half-hour sessions per day, during working hours, to breastfeed her baby
and she may do so for a year starting from the child’s birth. If companies employ at least
fifty women, a special room will be reserved for them for breastfeeding their young babies.

That said, the applicable legislation thereby attributes responsibility for caring for and brin-
ging up children to women and not to men. To this end, the legislation has not, as yet, been
modified to recognise the social dimension of the reproductive function and to replace
maternity leave with parental leave.

As examples:

Unpaid leave is permitted for working mothers for a renewable, two-year period so they
can raise one or more children under six years of age or children suffering from disabilities
that require constant care. Since 1999, the general Law on office and public institution
personnel has allowed for the possibility of one of the parents, depending on their choice,
taking unpaid leave to bring up one or more children or take care of a child suffering from
a profound disability.

Early retirement is recognised to mothers, as an exception to the normal retirement of civil

servants or public officials. Early retirement is granted to women according to specific condi-
tions that take account of the number of underage children they are responsible for (3) or
the profound disability from which the child suffers, their status as mothers and the actual
number of years they have worked in the administration (15).

Part-time work is regulated at 2/3 of the salary for women employees. Despite widespread
part-time employment in public service since 1983, in 2006 a new law, dated 28 July, was
enacted to establish a special system for part-time work with the benefit of two thirds of
the wages for mothers. Only female public servants may benefit from this system by order
of the Minister, taking account of the need for the service and the budgets available. Civil
service mothers who benefit from this system retain their rights to advancement, promotion,

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social cover, and holidays. However, it appears that female civil servants perceive this special
system as discrimination against them and they are very reluctant to use it because, during
the budget debates of 2008, the report of the sixth Committee of the Chamber of Deputies
showed that the number of requests had dropped from 1,504 in 2007 to 504 in 2008.

Application of the principle of non-discrimination in employment

Despite the affirmation of the principle of non-discrimination, women’s work is dependent

on several factors that impact on its practice and effectiveness. Widespread free and obli-
gatory education and the other measures adopted have helped women to leave the private
sphere and access the labour market. Studies now show that finding employment is a prio-
rity for many girls and women, before marriage. That said, there is a discrepancy between
the legislation that promotes the principle of non-discrimination and the actual position of
women in the labour market.

The nature of women’s work depends on their level of education. Women’s work also depends
on the environment of crisis and globalisation which has resulted in greater unemployment
amongst women than men, the feminisation of poverty and the precariousness of women’s
employment. In the private sector, women are primarily concentrated in the textile industries,
where they suffer the difficulties inherent to this sector: they are recruited on a fixed-term
contract or without a contract or through placements initiating them into professional life at
low wages. Generally, women are more likely to be in precarious situations. The situation
of domestic workers, who are subject to a law dated 1 July 1965, but who work outside the
law, is emblematic.

One of the limitations to the better application of the legal framework is the absence of avai-
lable data disaggregated by gender in the private sector. Moreover, none of the legal texts
that enshrine the principle of non-discrimination between the sexes has provided measures
or affirmative action to guarantee this right and to allow its effective execution. In parallel, no
provision provides for enforcement measures or sanctions against the discriminatory attitudes
of company managers or directors. Thus, job offers sometimes require the completion of
military service or the absence of family obligations.

Finally, no effort has so far been made to consolidate the position of women in the systems
for the defence of workers’ rights, since women are almost entirely absent as either members
or leaders from the Central Workers’ Organisation, the General Union of Tunisian Workers.
They do not represent more than 1.10% of all union officials.

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5.3. The participation of women

in decision-making
5.3.1. The political rights of women
Tunisian women did not get the right to vote just after independence because Tunisian
constitutional law complied with a long heritage of excluding women from the right to vote. It
was only with the enactment of the Constitution, on 1 June 1959, that this right was fully and
completely acknowledged and the first electoral code21 was issued in its wake, recognising
men and women as voters, explicitly stating in Article 2: “All Tunisians, both men and women,
aged twenty years and over, having held Tunisian nationality for five years and who enjoy
their civil and political rights and are not in any way incapacitated as stipulated by law are
eligible as voters”. This definition of voters is still in force, thereby allowing women to enjoy
their right to vote and be voted for, to stand for presidential, parliamentary and municipal
governments under the conditions set by the Electoral Code, which does not provide for any
affirmative action in their favour, such as a rule regarding the quota or equal representation
to guarantee their presence in decision-making bodies.

Nevertheless, Tunisian women have gained access to the political bodies (Parliament, muni-
cipal councils, consultative bodies) thanks to favourable legislation and confirmed political
will. Affirmative action measures have been adopted by the party in power, the RCD.

Exercising the freedom of association is also granted equally to men and women, but the
existence of conditions inhibits the formation of so-called autonomous or “independent”
associations. Moreover, the rights of Tunisian women, although guaranteed by law, remain
inadequate insofar as their application is impeded by cultural, social, economic and political
resistance, which prevents women from actually enjoying their rights and limits their partici-
pation in the development process.

5.3.2. The Presidential electoral programmes

The presidential electoral programmes from 1999-2004 and 2004-2009 acknowledge the
importance of women’s participation by dedicating a special chapter to this subject. Fol-
lowing on from this, initiatives have been taken to consolidate their participation in political
life and their presence in positions involving decision-making and responsibility. Point 5 of
the presidential programme (1999-2004) entitled “New horizons for women” has allowed

21
Law n°59-86 of 30 July 1959 relating to the election of the President of the Republic and the members of the
National Constitutional Convention and the texts which amended and completed it.

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access for over 20% of women to decision-making posts and electoral bodies. Point 16 of
the presidential electoral programme (2004-2009), entitled “Women, equality in active par-
tnership”, aimed to achieve a minimum of 30% women in positions involving decision-making
and responsibility before 2009. The evaluation and monitoring of the implementation of this
last point was debated in Ministerial Councils, in order to ensure that the objective decreed
by the presidential programme was achieved.

In this regard, the MAFFEPA is involved, in partnership with other national governmental,
non-governmental and international organisations, by:

• Producing a report on the presence of women in decision-making positions (2004-2007);

• organising training sessions by the CREDIF, at central and regional levels, that contribute
to building the capacities of women and increasing their self-empowerment in terms of
leadership and participation in public life;
• involving male senior executives and human resource promotion managers in institutions
and companies in the debate on women’s access to decision-making positions, which
has made it possible to increase their awareness of the importance of allowing women
to participate in decision-making at an institutional and corporate level.

5.3.3. Progress in political representation

The participation of women in the three governmental powers has increased significantly
since independence. Women are increasingly represented in senior posts, ministerial cabi-
nets, advisory bodies and even in diplomatic positions. The percentage of women present
in the Chamber of Deputies increased from 4.3% in 1989 to 11.5% in 1999 and 22.7% in
2004, with 43 elected female deputies. There are 15 female members of the Chamber of
Councillors, which is a rate of 15.2%.

Women are gaining ground at local government level: the percentage of women in regional
councils and governorates has increased to 23%. In municipal Councils, the percentage of
female councillors increased from 13.3% in 1990 to 16.6% in 1995, to reach 26% in 2005.
The growing percentage of women in municipalities is connected to the decision of the
President of the Republic to increase women’s presence on municipal councils to a minimum
of 25% of seats. However, municipalities held by women are the exception: only 5 women
are Presidents of municipalities.

Women have made more significant inroads when access is connected more to merit, as is
the case at the judicial level. Women’s participation at this level is highly symbolic. In 2007,
women held 29% of magistrates’ positions and 31% of lawyers’ positions.

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The low presence of women in legislative and executive functions reflects their low political
engagement and their limited presence in the executive committees of political parties. The
participation of women remains marginal here in most cases. This general statement should
be qualified according to the parties, whose position with regard to the presence of women
remains dependent on their manifestos and their leaders. The opposition parties timidly
support a policy promoting the position of women in political life; women are poorly repre-
sented at the grassroots level and in the leadership structures. However, we are witnessing a
revitalisation of this participation, as women are accessing the executive committees of their
parties: a woman is the leader of the Democratic Party for Progress, PDP, four women are
active in the Political Management of the Green Party for Progress, three women are on the
executive committee of the Socialist Democratic Movement (MDS) and one woman holds
a position on the executive committee of the Popular Union Party, PUP. The integration of
women can also be seen on the electoral lists of some of the opposition parties.

The increasing number of women in politics reflects the will of the State to promote women
and illustrates women’s aspirations to greater participation in positions of power, but progress
remains slow and numbers low. To this end the political efforts of the XIth Development Plan
during the 2007-2011 period will focus on increasing training programmes targeting the
political “empowerment” of women as well as on information, communication and awareness
programmes with a view to changing mentalities and behaviour and laying the foundations
of a culture of equality and the partnership between men and women.

5.4. The autonomy of women:

health, education and employment

5.4.1. Modernisation and demographic indicators

It is important to analyse the quality of life of Tunisian men and women, as this has a definite
impact on their participation in development and decision-making. It is characterised by
continued growth in living standards and a slow growth in economic development in the
inland regions. An analysis of quality of life in terms of gender suggests that:

• living standards have improved greatly but there are disparities;

• expenditure per person per year has increased;
• access to household appliances is rising but a large portion of the population remains excluded;
• access to radio, television and telephone has become accessible to the general public;

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• housing is becoming increasingly comfortable;

• the introduction of household appliances has changed the lives of women. Access to radio
and television has reduced their isolation and has been a preferred source of entertain-
ment and access to information. Telephone and new telecommunications technologies
have opened up new perspectives.

Evolution of demographic indicators

Year 2003 2004 2005

Gross birth rate per 1000 inhabitants 17.1 16.8 17.1
Gross mortality rate per 1000 inhabitants 6.1 6.0 5.9
Natural rate of increase (in %) 1.03 1.08 1.1
Total fertility rate 2.06 2.02 2.04
Infant mortality rate per 1000 births 21.1 20.7 20.3
Life expectancy at birth (m) 71.1 71.4 71.6
Life expectancy at birth (f) 75.1 75.3 75.5
Life expectancy at birth (m+f) 73.1 73.4 73.5

Source: National Statistics Institute

The report on the state of the world population maintained a demographic rate of increase
of 0.1 for Tunisia between 2005 and 2010. The urban population represents 66%, with a
growth rate of 1.6.

The age at first marriage is in the 30-34 age range. It has been pushed back for both sexes
following changes and social and economic transformations. Early marriage is not encou-
raged in Tunisia. The number of single people has increased significantly: in the 20-24 age
range, the percentage of single people increased from 27% in 1966 to 58.8% in 1984 and
to 83.6% in 2004 and in 2006.

The birth rate has fallen significantly, dropping from 50 per thousand in 1956 to 32.3 per
thousand in 1984 and down to 17.1 per thousand in 2003. The gross mortality rate has fol-
lowed the same trend, as it was 6 per thousand in 2003 and 5.9% in 2005, compared with
15 per thousand in 1966. This resulted in a decrease in the natural rate of increase to 1.10%
in 2003, although it exceeded 3% in 1956. The total fertility rate was 1.87 in 2007; it is lowest
in urban areas at 1.5 (children) and it is highest in rural areas at 2.6.

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5.4.2. Education
The right to schooling has always been a vital political choice in Tunisia. Laws n° 58.118 of
November 1958, n° 91.65 of 29 July 1991 and framework law n° 2002-80 of 23 July 2002,
concerning schooling and school education establish this choice. Equal access to education
for all, without discrimination, is a right guaranteed by law and a legal obligation punishable
by legal action in the event of a breach.

Increasing urbanisation, demographic transition, the change in mentalities and improvements

in living standards have boosted the education of girls: this is reflected in the percentages of
girls in primary, secondary and higher education which have increased, with a decline in the
number of girls dropping out of school and a better success rate for girls. Boy/girl parity has
become a reality in all stages of education and a certain imbalance in favour of girls is even
starting to emerge in secondary education. The success rate for girls is constantly improving
from one year to the next at the different levels of education.

Development of dropout rates by gender and cycle

Educational 1st cycle of primary 2nd cycle of Secondary

cycles education primary education education

Year 1999/2000 2006/2007 1999/2000 2006/2007 1999/2000 2006/2007

Girls 2.6 1.6 7.6 8.2 8.1 9.1
Boys 3.2 2.0 11.8 14.5 11.2 14.4

Source: Ministry for Education

Development of dropout rates by gender in higher education (%)

University year 1999/2000 2002/2003 2006-2007

Girls 1.3% 1.3% 1.3%
Boys 1.8% 1.7% 2.2%

Source: Ministry for Higher Education and Scientific Research

Apart from the guarantee of equal access to education, the educational system aims to ensure
the conditions allowing all children to complete their schooling. In this way, girls benefit from
university loans and grants in the same way as boys and these are granted in accordance

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with the needs of the students. Affirmative action has been introduced in favour of girls for
accommodation in halls of residence.

Success rate per type of diploma for the academic year (2006/2007)

Type of diploma Boys Girls Overall

University diploma in technological studies 77.1 83.6 80.4
Short cycle 70 78.4 73.5
Masters 58.5 64.4 62.1
Engineering 83.1 90.9 86.8
Specialised Diploma (Bac + 5) 77.2 85.1 82
Doctorate in medicine, pharmacy and dentistry 82.2 89.8 87.1
Total 67.4 72.6 70.5

Source: Ministry for Higher Education and Scientific Research

Distribution of students per academic year

Academic year 1999/2000 2002/2003 2006/2007

Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys
Students receiving grants 21,261 16,800 31,713 39,604 40,176 62,458
Students receiving loans 8,453 7,670 2,588 3,244 2,480 4,124
Students receiving
11,265 33,795 15,394 37,689 14,197 42,589
accommodation

Source: Ministry for Higher Education and Scientific Research

At university, girls in the faculty of arts and social sciences are in the majority, although the
number of girls on scientific courses has increased over the last few years.

The number of girls in vocational training centres represents 32.98% of the overall number
of trainees. Girls are present in the different training specialities without exception and in
different proportions, an that, depending on their choices.

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The number of trainees in graduate vocational training by gender in 2007

Training institution Boys Girls

Tunisian agency for vocational training 40,817 17,853
Agency for the extension of agricultural training 1,006 244
Tunisian National Tourist Office 1,931 539
Ministry for Public Health 778 2,055
Ministry of Defence 377 107
Private Establishments 1,587 2,079
Total 46,496 22,877

Source: Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment

The specific laws and measures taken by the State are therefore likely to promote a greater
quantitative and qualitative presence of women on the employment market in the future and
to improve the access of girls to major sectors such as technologies and sciences.

5.4.3. Literacy
A National Adult Education Programme (PNEA) was set up in 2000 with the aim of freeing
young people and women who live mainly in rural areas from illiteracy. The number of
women benefiting from this programme has increased significantly. In 2006/2007, women
accounted for 79.6% of the total number of learners. This has contributed to a sharp drop in
the illiteracy rate amongst women from 36% in 1999 to 28.7% in 2006. The overall illiteracy
rate has fallen from 85% at the start of independence to the current rate of less than 20%.
The national adult education programme has, since its establishment in 2000, succeeded in
helping over 370 thousand citizens escape from illiteracy, or an annual average of 53 thousand
beneficiaries, 80% of whom are women. In the coming years, the PNEA plans to expand its
activities to illiterate labourers working in economic companies and public bodies and to
provide more integrated professional learning for learners and especially for young girls.
The UNFT contributes to the implementation of this Plan by making its regional and local
facilities (delegations and sections) available, which helps to mobilise illiterate women, notably
in rural areas and the peripheries of major cities. The learning programme is supported by
incentives for the creation of micro-projects and sources of income for less fortunate families.
The programme has made it possible to reduce female illiteracy, has reduced the differences
between urban and rural women and has encouraged women to take private initiatives with
a view to extricating themselves from poverty and exclusion.

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5.4.4. Health
The right to health was recognised as a fundamental right very early on in Tunisia. It is
established by the Constitution and repeated in the law of 20 January 1969 concerning
the organisation of healthcare. Law n° 91-63 of 29 July 1991 confirms this right. Almost
6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is allocated to the health sector, notably for the
development of healthcare infrastructure to support preventive and curative healthcare,
research and training. The policy on women’s health revolves around a number of areas for
the promotion, prevention and management of various aspects of the health of mothers,
children and the family

The Reproductive Health policy (SR) that targets women of childbearing age has developed
over the years. Initially focused on family planning, the women’s health policy developed
over the 1980-1990 period towards a more comprehensive concept of family health, and
since the Cairo World Conference of 1994 has been focused on reproductive health (RH).
This policy was also characterised by the implementation of a legal framework encouraging
the achievement of specific programmes and recognising the phenomenon of the individua-
lisation of women’s empowerment in the spirit of the ICPD, Beijing and CEDAW.

In 2004, women’s health indicators showed an average well above that recommended by the
international conferences: ICPD (1994) or Beijing (1995): a maternal mortality rate of 50 per
hundred thousand live births, infant mortality of 20.6 per thousand births, a total fertility rate
(TFR) of 2 children per woman of childbearing age and a life expectancy at birth of 75.3 for
women, compared to 71.3 for men.

Development of the number of people using reproductive health services (2003-2007)

Health services 2003 2006 2007

Infertility consultations 12,700 12,354 11,939
Consultations/Menopause 13,700 15,142 15,821
Consultation/STI 45,318 38,653 39,404
Cancer Screening/Uterus 23,412 20,841 25,334
Cancer Consultation/Breast 81,886 94,360 94,384
Medical Consultations/Young people --- 52,109 58,868

Source: Ministry for Public Health

A study of the impact of the falling birth rate on a woman’s lifecycle shows that today Tunisian
women marry and have children later and later, regardless of their level of education and

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their environment: the lifespan devoted to maternity (pregnancy and lactation) has decreased
from 24 years in 1966 to less than 5 years in 2006; mothers, who lived 50 years on average in
1966 dedicated 24 years of their lives to pregnancy and lactation. Today they only dedicate
about ten years to this, whereas their life expectancy has increased to 75.

5.4.5. Employment
Women’s economic activity is constantly increasing. The level of activity of women increased
from 22.8% in 1999 to 23.8% in 2003, and in 2007 reached 25.3%. Examining the changing
structure of the working population by gender shows the upward trend in the percentage
of women in the total working population. This percentage increased from 25.1% in 1999
to 26.2% in 2003 and to 27.3% in 2007.

Structure of the employed female working population according to the level of

education (%)

Level of education of the working population 1999 2005

Illiterate 25.2 20.8
Primary 32.1 28.2
Secondary 31.0 33.5
Higher 11.7 17.5
Total 100 100

Source: National Statistics Institute

However, an analysis of employment by profession shows that women are not present equally
in all professions. Some professions are clearly dominated by women, such as the professions
“other craftsmen and workers in traditional craft trades” and “office employees”. Others are
more female-dominated than the average. This shows that women are certainly increasingly
present in highly skilled positions and jobs that require a high level of skill (education and trai-
ning specialists and experts in life sciences and healthcare), but they have difficulty breaking
through into many professions, including those involving decision-making and power, which
they are trying to improve through the increase in the number of women company directors
and by entering the commercial and service sectors: there are 18 thousand women company
directors, 79% of whom have completed higher education; likewise, they have represented
approximately 20% of estate agents since 2004; in 2007, 27% of women held positions as
advertising agents; in 2007, the directors of about 70% of the main companies established
in the country in the field of commercial advertising, were women.

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Summary of the participation rates of women in decision-making posts

and in certain sectors of activity

Sector % / (number)
Pharmaceutical sector 72
Scientific Research 50
Secondary Education 48
Primary education 46.9
Medical Professions 42
Further Education 40
The bar 31
Magistracy 29
Journalism 44
Manufacturing Industries 21
Civil service 21
Agriculture and fisheries 16.7
Service sector 37
Working population 27.1
Businesswomen (18,000)
Female employers 15.7
Members of organisations and associations 42
Executives of associations 20
Chamber of deputies 22.7
Chamber of Councillors 15.2
Diplomatic Corps 24
Government: 6 women (one Minister and 5 Secretaries of State) 13.4
Ministerial cabinets 12
Constitutional Council 25
Governor (2004-2007) (1)
Economic and Social Council 20
High Council of Magistracy 13.3
High Council of Communication 6.6
Regional councils of governorates 32
Municipal councils 27.4
RCD Central Committee (since the Challenge Congress) 37.9
Source: different Ministries, INS, UTICA, UTAP

Moreover, in 2007 the unemployment rate was 17.8% for women and 12.8% for men. The
number of women looking for a professional job and signing on at the employment and
self-employment offices increased significantly during the 2000-2007 period, from 53,805

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in 2000 to 264,493 in 2007, i.e. a rate of 50.7% of all new job applications in 2007. The
percentage of women involved in investment transactions is rising continuously, from 36%
in 2000 to almost 44% in 2007.

Data from various censuses and surveys

Percentage
Programme Year
of women
Average
Job incentive programmes 47% from
1999-2007
Job induction programmes 51.3% 2007
National Employment Fund 21-21 (established in 1999
and intended to improve the qualifications of applicants 43.7% 2007
and to facilitate their integration into the economy)
Work experience placement (SIVP I) 56.2% 2007
Work experience placement (SIVP II) 68.9% 2007
Contract of Training in Employment (CEF) 46.4% 2007
Employment and Training Fund (FIAP) 62.6% 2007
Programme for providing 50% of the wage 49.3% 2007
Business Creation/Entrepreneur Training Programme (CEFE) 52.3% 2007
Microcredits 43.9% 2007
Tunisian Solidarity Bank (BTS) (established in 1997 and
38.9% 2007
specialised in granting microcredits at very low interest rates):

Source: Ministry for Women, the Family, Childhood and the Elderly (Tunisia) (5th and 6th combined reports
to CEDAW (2008)

In conclusion, advances in the education of women and economic growth in Tunisia have
allowed women to improve their position on the labour market although this has not put
an end to the discrimination they face. Women continue to suffer unequal treatment on the
labour market. With the same level of education and at the same age, the wages they earn
remain lower than those of men. This wage discrimination reinforces the discrimination seen
in the lower employability of women and by the priority given to the employment of men.
This is likely to affect women’s participation in decision-making both in their private lives and
in public life in general and in political life in particular and, consequently, in the way their
needs are taken into consideration. Furthermore, responsibility for domestic duties remains
with women, limiting their availability for employment.

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Distribution of time spent on domestic work by gender

Time spent on domestic work Men Women

Preparing meals and provisions 0 h 05 2 h 04
Housework 0 h 03 1 h 20
Washing up 0 h 01 0 h 34
Laundry 0 h 04 0 h 30
Fetching water and wood 0 h 01 0 h 06
Caring for domestic pets 0 h 01 0 h 03
Care of children and dependents 0 h 04 0 h 24
Monitoring the schooling of children 0 h 01 0 h 03
Maintenance of the home, DIY, gardening 0 h 06 0 h 02
Shopping and invoices 0 h 14 0 h 11
Total 0 h 40 5 h 15

Source: Ministry for Women, the Family, Childhood and the Elderly (Tunisia)

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6. International framework
of reference: CEDAW

6.1. The reservations to CEDAW

The ratification of CEDAW by Tunisia in 1985 came up against the formulation of reservations
against some of its provisions, relating primarily to the status of women in the family. In Tuni-
sia, as in the majority of Arab States that ratified this Convention, the main reservations were
formulated with regard to Articles 9, 15 and 16 of the Convention. It should however be noted
that Tunisia is the only country in the region to have ratified the Optional Protocol (2008).

Moreover, after the publication of the CEDAW ratification in JORT, (i.e. in 1991), an ad hoc
committee was formed at the direction of the President of the Republic. It consisted of multi-
disciplinary experts, lawyers, sociologists, theologians and feminists, and tackled the reforms
to be introduced into Tunisian legislation to bring it into compliance with the Conventions to
which Tunisia was a party and particularly CEDAW. The recommendations of this committee
were announced by the President of the Republic in the form of legislative and institutional
measures in his speech of 12 August 1992 and appropriate amendments were introduced
into the legislation between 1992 and 1993.

Other measures were introduced following the comments and recommendations of the
Committee for monitoring the implementation of CEDAW (in 1995 and 14 June 2002 for
combined reports 3 and 4), when the reports from Tunisia were presented.

That said, reservations remain. The reservations concerning articles 15 and 16 relate to
granting women the same rights and responsibilities in marriage and on its dissolution, as
parents, and regardless of their marital status for questions relating to guardianship and
custody of their children, the adoption of children or similar institutions. They also concern
the name and domicile of the family and the enjoyment of the same rights by both spouses
as regards the acquisition, management, and administration of property.

For all these reservations, the Tunisian government did not consider itself bound by the
provisions that grant the same rights to women and men in terms of marriage and with
regard to any children and by the provisions relating to the family name and the acquisition
of property by inheritance, because they are inconsistent with the provisions of the Code
of Personal Status.

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Another reservation was formulated along the same lines concerning the provisions of
Article 9§2 of the Convention on Nationality. The reservations relate to the provisions of the
Nationality Code, despite the fact that Article 6 of this Code relating to granting nationality
to children and the loss of nationality, grants women the right to give their nationality to their
children but with the consent of the father or in the event of his absence.

In addition to these specific reservations, a general declaration was formulated to complete

the specific reservations. It calls on the competent authorities to refrain from taking any
administrative or legislative decisions that may contravene constitutional provisions and
existing laws.

These reservations show the predominance of the patriarchal social order. The general
declaration was initially made to avoid any conflict with the Tunisian Constitution, on the
one hand, and the references made in the substantive law to the provisions of Islamic law,
on the other hand. It recalls that the Tunisian government will not take any measures that
are likely to go against the first Article of the Tunisian Constitution, according to which the
State religion is Islam. By giving precedence to religion over international conventions, the
State emphasizes the application of domestic law to the detriment of international law.

Consequently, domestic law, with its religious foundations, takes precedence; this goes
against Article 32 of the Constitution, which states the superiority of duly ratified conventions
over domestic laws.

6.2. The advertising and media coverage

of the CEDAW report
Tunisia submitted a total of four reports (on two occasions: 1995 and 2002) and is about to
present its 5th and 6th combined reports covering the period from 1999 to 2007.

Today, the presentation of Tunisia’s reports to the CEDAW Committee is known to all,
through the website of the United Nations Women’s Committee. However, the presenta-
tion of reports is generally followed by press conferences given either by the Minister for
Women, the Family, Childhood and the Elderly in person or by a member of the delegation
who accompanied him to New York. Those who speak to the press highlight the positive
remarks of the Committee to a greater extent than those that show any failings.

The reports are also presented before the members of the Council for Women, Family and
the Elderly, comprising representatives of governmental and non-governmental mechanisms.

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6.3. The role of NGOs in preparing reports

The approach followed by the MAFFEPA was to convene the partners represented at the
National Council on Women, Family and the Elderly (CNFFPA) and to send a letter to the
institutions and NGOs involved in the CEDAW report, requesting that they provide the data
and information required by the report. Some MAFFEPA representatives replied by sending
the documentation requested. For those representatives who did not reply, the MAFFEPA
had to collect the information and data regarding them, so that all the fields (articles) would
be covered by the report.

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7. National Initiatives:
Public policies and strategies for
women’s human rights and equality
Tunisian women have benefited from a favourable national context characterised by:

• the continuation of the process to consolidate women’s rights introduced by the reformist
movement and President Bourguiba, notably through the 1993 amendments;
• the interest given to the institutional system, demonstrated by the creation of a Ministry
responsible for the promotion of women, which has seen its powers increase over the
years;
• the integration of gender in the development planning process and its mainstreaming
have made it possible to translate equality into clear objectives. Some of these objectives
have been quantified;
• the use of affirmative action.

7.1. Institutional mechanisms

7.1.1. The Ministry for Women, the Family, Childhood and the Elderly
(MAFFEPA)
The creation of the first Ministry for Women and the Family goes back to the early 1980’s.
Created in the wake of the results of the Nairobi conference, the young department expe-
rienced difficulties that resulted in its dissolution. Until August 1992, issues concerning women
were consequently tackled in a limited and transitory manner by the sectoral ministerial
departments. During the Eighth Development Plan, a new government body was created:
the Secretary of State for Women and the Family (SEFF) which was responsible for issues
concerning women and the family and which proved a turning point in the consideration of
the specific needs of women and improved programming in their favour.

In August 1993, the State Secretariat to the Prime Minister, responsible for women and the
family, was elevated to the rank of Ministry responsible to the Prime Minister and in 1996 to
that of an independent Ministry; at the same time, it saw its powers strengthened. Its mission
was then to develop government policy on the promotion of women and the family and to
coordinate the actions of the different Ministries involved in its domains of action.

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Since 2002, the Ministry for Women and the Family (MAFF) has successively been given the
domain of childhood (September 2002) and the elderly (October 2004), and has become
the Ministry for Women, the Family, Childhood and the Elderly (MAFFEPA).

MAFFEPA plays a key role in the design, implementation and leadership of gender equa-
lity policies. Since its creation, this mechanism has seen its duties grow. The ministerial
department was initially exclusively concerned with women and the family. Conceived as a
cross-functional department for coordination, not action, few human and financial resources
were made available.

The latest reorganisations have progressively increased its duties. It is now responsible for
two major categories, namely childhood and the elderly. The addition of the categories of
childhood and the elderly to the duties of the MAFFEPA constitutes an opportunity in itself.
It makes it possible to consider the issue of women according to a lifecycle approach. In
this way, issues such as GBV, stereotypes and education in women’s rights are considered
differently during the different stages of a woman’s life. For example, the issue of GBV has
allowed the detailed examination of violence against children and particularly against small
girls. In the same way, the category of “the elderly” is now taken into account in the exami-
nation of the time budget for women. “The elements specific to the concept of gender are
vectors for the coordination between the four focal areas of the MAFFEPA, namely childhood,
women, the elderly and the family”22. These coordinating vectors are the lifecycle of people,
individual differences and the social relationship between women and men.

On the other hand, extending the duties of the Department has resulted in greater responsi-
bilities for the MAFFEPA, especially as unlike the “women and family” dossiers, handled
in coordination with the other technical ministerial departments, the issues of childhood
and the elderly require the involvement or even the direct intervention and management
of MAFFEPA services. In effect, the centres and other institutions responsible for children
and the elderly require continuous supervision, not to mention the two strategies relating
to them that the Ministry supervises and implements in partnership with its government
and civil society partners. Therefore, the issue of women has been “diluted” into the issues
of other categories considered more vulnerable, at a time when efforts are being directed
towards gender mainstreaming.

The Ministry operates according to four distinct strategies for the duties/bodies for which
it is responsible. Regarding gender, a consistent strategy of intervention during the lifecycle
of women may be the cornerstone of MAFFEPA’s work. Currently it appears essential to
reinforce the interactive consistency between MAFFEPA departments. Likewise, in the light
of the human and financial resources allocated to it, the MAFFEPA does not always have the

22
“Report on gender budgeting in Tunisia”: Nalini Burn, 2006

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capacity to assume easily the assignments entrusted to it and the diverse issues for which
it is responsible.

The increase in the prerogatives of MAFFEPA also led to the creation in 2005 of seven regio-
nal offices (districts), with a view to administrative decentralisation and to raise awareness
of the different characteristics and unique features of the environments.

MAFFEPA’s primary role is to coordinate the action of the various government institutions,
with a view to promoting the status and condition of women and the family, to improving the
integration of women into the development process, to evaluating the programmes carried
out to promote women and to applying the dynamism of women’s associations. In order to
achieve this, it is authorised to propose bills and to undertake development programmes.
Essentially it remains a Ministry for action and horizontal impetus. It acts at a decision-making
level, as the Minister participates in the ministerial councils chaired by the Head of State and
as the Ministry’s programmes are adopted by the government. In terms of execution, the
MAFFEPA essentially plays a role in social communication, with the development programmes
it initiates being executed either by the technical ministries concerned or by NGOs.

The MAFFEPA is assisted in achieving its mission by three important structures: the National
Council on “Women and Family”, which is a consultative body, the Centre for Research,
Studies, Documentation and Information on Women (CREDIF), which is its scientific and
technical body and the National “Women and Development Commission”, a consultative
planning and evaluation structure, in the context of national planning. Since its creation, the
Ministry has implemented numerous action plans in favour of women and the family, while
providing mechanisms and infrastructure, including the Observatory for children’s rights and
the Observatory for the family, a helpline and referral system and a support mechanism for
micro-enterprises run by women.

7.1.2. The National Council For Women, Family and the Elderly
(CNFFPA)
Established in 1992, the National Council for “Women, Family and the Elderly” is the advisory
body called on to assist the MAFFEPA in its policy guidelines. Chaired by the Minister for
Women, the Family, Childhood and the Elderly, it is composed of representatives of different
ministries, government institutions and structures, non-governmental organisations active
in areas concerning women, the family and the elderly as well as resource people chosen
for their skill in these areas.

The CNFF is considered the instrument of coordination between governmental and non-
governmental players in considerations concerning the policy for enhancing the status of

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women and the family and is an area of active partnership with civil society, whose role
is considered essential to basically extend, reduce and support the actions of the public
authorities.

In September 1997, the structure of the CNFF was consolidated by the creation of three
working committees, called on to support the CNFF and to provide it with clarification on a
number of questions. These committees are responsible for drawing up and submitting an
annual report to the Council including recommendations and action plans, each in the area
of their competence. Once approved, these action plans are submitted to the MAFFEPA for
implementation and monitoring. These committees are:

• the committee for monitoring the image of women in the media;

• the commission for the enhancing of equal opportunities and monitoring the application
of laws;
• the commission for preparing national and international deadlines relating to women
and the family.

In order to conform to the current priorities as defined in the context of the 11th Plan Com-
mittee, these committees have been replaced by the following three:

• the committee for promoting the participation of women in public life;

• the committee for the reconciliation of family and professional life;
• the committee for promoting the elderly.

It should be noted that the new committees created are interested in the relationship between
family and public life, as well as in participation in decision-making, which are themes which
were commented on by the CEDAW implementation monitoring committee at the presen-
tation of combined reports 3 and 4. This interest in reconciling family and public life may be
explained by Tunisia signing up to the gender approach and by the need to find suitable
means to allow women easily to fulfil their three roles: procreative, productive and social.

7.1.3. The Centre for Research, Studies, Documentation

and Information on Women (CREDIF)
Established in 1990 and considered as the scientific body of MAFFEPA, the Centre for
Research, Studies, Documentation and Information on Women essentially has the following
tasks: to encourage studies and research on the role and status of women in Tunisian society;
to collect data and documentation relating to the situation of women and to ensure their
dissemination and to draw up reports on progress in women’s affairs in Tunisian society.

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The CREDIF, which is a public institution placed under the supervision of MAFFEPA, was
supported by bilateral and multilateral cooperation which contributed to the development
of expertise at the CREDIF and to its strategic positioning in the national, regional and
international environment. In addition to its departments for research, studies, training,
information and communication, the CREDIF also has complementary structures, including:

• The Observatory for the status of women, which provides policy-makers with the data
and indicators required for decision-making and for planning programmes and allows
researchers and NGOs to access the information required;
• The Women’s Information Network for Tunisia (RIF) and the Maghreb (REMIF), for
which it is the focal point;
• A facility for international training on Gender and Development;
• The UNESCO Chair in Women Status Studies intended to encourage research on
gender issues and to promote exchanges between research institutions in the North
and the South;
• A Mechanism for monitoring the image of women in the media, which is intended to
analyse the representation of gender roles as transmitted by the written and audiovisual
media.

7.1.4. The decentralisation of institutions and facilities

Inequalities have been noted in the reports by MAFFEPA and its subsidiary body, CREDIF,
between the status of women in large cities and that of women in inland regions, in terms of
the application of laws and the enjoyment of rights. These inequalities can be seen particularly
in difficulties for women in inland regions to access resources, their low participation in deci-
sion-making and their higher level of illiteracy. This explains the creation of new mechanisms
at the regional level to respond to the recommendations and wishes expressed by women
at the different meetings. This involved:

• The establishment of regional committees for the promotion of rural women by Decree
n° 2001-2902 of 20 December 2001, with the aim of achieving the non-exclusion policy
and the gender approach;
• The creation of seven districts in charge of issues concerning women, the family and the
elderly. Such mechanisms, which are the regional antennas of the MAFFEPA, help to
analyse the state of equality in the regions and propose ways for the MAFFEPA to inter-
vene to propel women into decision-making posts and target actions to combat GBV.

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7.1.5. Support mechanisms for rural women

Institutional support mechanisms for rural women have been set up to help reduce the dis-
parities between women from urban environments and those from rural environments, while
taking account of the specific requirements of rural women. These mechanisms include the
National Commission for Rural Women, established in 2001 and chaired by the Minister
of MAFFEPA; this committee is divided into regional sub-committees chaired by the gover-
nors of the region, whose mission is to ensure the monitoring of the implementation of the
action plan for the promotion of rural women, to evaluate achievements and to present
recommendations for the improvement of the content and the means of implementation.

7.1.6. The Observatory for the Tunisian family

Created in 2006, with the assistance and technical support of the United Nations Develop-
ment Fund for Women (UNIFEM), this observatory has a dual purpose: to analyse changes
experienced by Tunisian families, marked by the end of the classic, traditional family model
on the one hand and to assess the family policy field on the other, identified in terms of
systems and programmes to benefit families.

One of the main roles of this observatory will, in future, consist of collecting, analysing and
disseminating quantitative and qualitative data on the development of the Tunisian family
which is currently dispersed and difficult to access. In future, the observatory will be a source
of information for policy-makers, so that in the light of the developments and changes
recorded, they can consider the measures to be taken to increase women’s participation in
development and responsibility-taking as well as in combating all the different aspects of
GBV: social, economic and political.

7.1.7. The National Women and Development Commission

Tunisia was one of the first countries in the Arab region to make efforts to integrate women
into development. The 8th Development Plan (1992-1996) was a genuine turning point in
that a Women and Development Commission was created for the first time by presidential
decree, like the twelve other sectoral commissions in the plan, to examine the situation of
women closely in all development sectors and to develop a specific strategy to promote
women, with objectives and precise monitoring and evaluation indicators.

Chaired by the Minister for Women and the Family, the “Women and Development” Com-
mission today brings together representatives of ministerial departments, representatives of
NGO’s for women and development, unions of workers and employers, as well as experts,

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academics and resource persons. Its mission is to evaluate the situation of women in all
development sectors and to propose specific action plans and positive actions to promote
them, with the aim of reducing gender inequalities in all sectors. This same commission is
subdivided into specialised sub-commissions, created according to the priorities of the time
and the guidelines adopted by the development plans under preparation, for example: the
development of female human resources; women and economic development; means and
mechanisms to promote women, women and specific categories. Like the sectoral reports
prepared within the framework of the preparation of the development plans, the reports
submitted by the five sub-committees are subject to consultation at regional and local level
by the local authorities as well as the executives of governmental and non-governmental
structures, with a view to adapting the objectives chosen to the specific requirements of the
regions as well as possible.

7.2. Civil society institutions

7.2.1. The Assistant General Secretariat for Women’s Affairs
in the Democratic Constitutional Group
Created in 1992, this Assistant General Secretariat of the largest party in the country is the
second post in the party hierarchy after the General Secretariat; it covers over 1,500 women’s
units throughout the entire country. Thanks to these units and to the concerted action of
24 assistant general secretaries entrusted with women’s affairs in the regional structures,
the assistant General Secretariat plays a role in raising awareness at the grassroots level, in
mobilising female elites and in promoting women at all levels, centrally, regionally and locally.

7.2.2. Professional organisations

In the context of the major national, professional organisations, Tunisian women are grouped
into women’s structures to allow a better defence of their specific interests. These include: The
National Chamber for Women Company Directors (CNFCE), established in 1990 within the
Tunisian Union for Industry, Trade and Craftsmanship (UTICA), the National Female Agricul-
turalists’ Federation (FNA), established in 1990 within the Tunisian Union for Agriculture and
Fisheries (UTAP) and the National Commission of Working Women, established in 1991 within
the Tunisian General Workers’ Union (UGTT – central union). The CNFCE, the FNA and the
women’s commission of the UGTT are located throughout the country via regional branches.

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The issue of women’s participation in decision-making at union level remains crucial and little
explained. In 2002, there were 27 female delegates out of 484 delegates at the conference
of the UGTT (Tunisian General Union of Labour), i.e. 5.9%. Four of them stood for election
as members of the executive but none were elected. The men in the union appreciate and
acknowledge the presence of women in the unions but they refuse to cede power to them
and women do not vote for women. They prefer to vote for men, even in more highly femi-
nised sectors such as education, health and textiles.

7.2.3. Non Governmental Organisations

Women’s NGOs

Since 1989, more than twenty women’s NGOs have been set up, working in the various
political, economic, social, cultural and scientific domains. Tunisian women participate in
community life: women represented more than a third of the members of the 9,063 asso-
ciations in the country in 2007. Women also held 21% of the leading positions in national
and professional associations and organisations. The involvement of women in civil society is
strategic insofar as it seeks to extend and promote their activism and stresses their ability to
create new rights towards full citizenship in everyday life. As is often the case, NGOs have a
pioneering role in handling some sensitive subjects, as is the case with gender-based violence.

The largest women’s associations in terms of both numbers and means carry out diversified
activities relating to both the socio-economic and political rights of women.

The National Union of Tunisian Women (UNFT) and the Tunisian Mothers’ Association (ATM)
are represented nationally and even internationally. They act for a better balance between
private and public life via support measures for their members, such as kindergartens, nur-
series, the training and mentoring of women who are responsible for bringing in family
income. Their representatives are generally candidates for the decision-making positions at
a regional level on the lists of the RCD party. In the same way, these two NGOs tackle the
issue of violence at national and a regional level through help lines and counselling, through
shelters for female victims of GBV. The UNFT plays a role in advocating increased women’s
rights and women’s access to decision-making positions and through the organisation of
awareness seminars at both a central and regional level.

The Tunisian Democratic Women’s Association (ATFD) is more interested in issues of political
debate. In addition to the organisation of seminars and meetings on current political themes,
the ATFD promotes women’s fundamental rights, by supporting the legal and psychological
framework for women who have been victims of violence and also by increasing women’s

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rights in accordance with the spirit of CEDAW, the content of which it tries to disseminate
on a large scale.

That said, the different components of the network of associations do not enjoy the same
State benefits as regards complementarity between governmental and non-governmental
actions, as is testified by the premises housing the associations, the number of staff assigned
to these NGOs’, the activities organised during the year and especially their presence at the
regional level. Apart from the UNFT and the ATM, the other associations have a very low
presence at a regional level: it can only be seen in some sporadic demonstrations organised
in the governorates.

The National Chamber of Women Company Directors (CNFCE) works to develop the eco-
nomic potential of women through its mentoring actions for young creative women. Finally,
other associations such as the women’s association “Tunisia 21”, the “Women for Sustainable
Development, Enda Inter-Arab” association, the “Women and Sciences” association and the
“Women and ITC” association contribute to increasing women’s participation in economic,
scientific and technological decision-making, each according to its mission.

Development NGOs

Women are increasingly present in associations working in other voluntary sectors. More
than thirty of these associations are chaired by women. Several NGOs acting in the deve-
lopment field and in combating poverty in rural and suburban areas and working to foster
a community development dynamic, have moreover directed their actions to the needs of
women, by integrating a gender component into their projects. Amongst these NGOs, we
should mention the APEL Association, the EI KEF Foundation, the ASAD Association, ENDA
Tunisia, the UTSS and the FTDC23. The interest of these NGOs resides in the fact that the
projects initiated to promote women have helped to develop self-esteem and other capa-
bilities which support decision-making both in the family and in society.

23
See the list of logos

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7.3. Public policy and measures promoting

women’s human rights and equality
7.3.1. Positive actions for women’s access to decision-making
To resolve the differences noted in the report of the Commission on “Women and Develop-
ment” , measures have been taken to promote women’s access to employment in general
and to decision-making positions, in particular. These involve:

• women’s focal points appointed to project management positions in the cabinet of

each Ministry with a view to coordinating actions targeting gender equality and being
the counterpart of the MAFFEPA for the implementation of its strategies. It should be
noted that the function of these focal points has been poorly understood, as they were
considered links between the MAFFEPA and their department, but were not granted
prerogatives to give them some margin to intervene with the technical departments.

• the National Equal Opportunities Commission was established in 1997, within the
National Commission on Women and Family. In its report, presented in late 1998, the
Commission notably recommended a set of measures for promoting equal opportu-
nities in employment. These include the recommendation to consider a law on sexual
harassment. This was done in 2004. However, this same commission had to be invited
to consider equal opportunities in other sectors such as education, health and politics.
However, the decision was made to postpone the commission as part of an overhaul of
CNFFPA commissions.

• in 1998, the joint circular from the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Women’s
Affairs and the Family invited the regional governors systematically to appoint at least
two women as designated members of each Regional Council. They currently represent
32% within the regional Councils of the 24 Governorates. These women are virtually the
only women in the interior regions who participate in decision-making at regional level,
as the opportunities for promotion to senior posts are minimal for women in the public
and private sector at a regional level.

• The National Plan for the promotion of rural women: the importance of this plan vis-à
vis the issue of women’s participation in politics lies in the fact that one of the themes
of this plan focuses on the women’s participation in community life. Measures are being
taken in the context of this action plan to introduce women to decision-making at a
community level. There are currently twelve extension centres established in rural areas,
whose aim, in addition to training rural women in traditional sectors, is to raise women’s

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awareness of participation in public life, by supporting them in the creation of develop-

ment associations and by initiating them in participation in debates at film showings.

• The National Action Plan for the family is considered one of the key instruments of family
policy, which began in the early 1990s. The purpose of public intervention in favour of
the family is explicit. It aims to “promote the conditions for the balance and stability of
the family, as an essential framework for the growth and well-being of the individual in a
changing environment”. The plan focuses on four main areas, namely: marital relations,
child socialisation, the physical and mental health of the family and the family economy
and includes a set of actions to develop the educational and social functions of the family
as well as its productive capacities, particularly through the creation of a mechanism for
technical and financial support to families’ and women’s micro-enterprises. The merit of
this Plan was in training women in their productive role within the family while equipping
them with the capabilities required for the creation of micro-projects, sources of family
income. These interventions have had the merit, moreover, of encouraging women’s
participation in decision-making in the private sphere and of introducing participation in
decision-making in the public sphere.

7.3.2. The mainstreaming of the gender approach

Tunisia has adopted a policy of integrating women into development and, more recently,
measures to promote gender in order to achieve women’s rights through experience. Since
1991, before the Beijing Conference in 1995, which enshrined the gender approach at an
international level, Tunisia had included equal opportunities for girls and boys, men and
women in its planning policy. The concept of integrating women into development, adopted
during the 7th plan, paved the way in this regard and a series of measures have contributed
to the adoption by the MAFFEPA and its partners of the gender concept in their planning.
The integration of women into development and the mainstreaming of gender prepared by
the 9th Development Plan (1997-2001), is set with the 10th Plan (2002-2006).

A further step was made on the path to anchoring the gender approach with the 11th Plan
(2007-2011): in fact, the chapter devoted to women anticipates the introduction of gender
budgeting as a financial approach aiming at the national and regional consolidation of equal
opportunities. To this end, executives in the departments of the interior and local govern-
ments, finance and regional development were initiated into this approach through training
sessions. Likewise, it is expected that the MAFFEPA will initiate a gender audit programme in
partnership with five pilot departments which are: the Ministries of Economic Development,
Finance, Public Health, the Interior and local government and civil service.

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The adoption of the gender approach by the various departments is neither linear nor
identical. As an indication, the Ministry of Health has taken specific initiatives for the mains-
treaming of the gender approach. A project to integrate gender into healthcare statistics is
being carried out in collaboration with the MAFFEPA and with the technical support of the
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. Several attempts have been made
within the Ministry of Health to integrate the gender approach into planning and into the
budget preparation process. Gender training workshops have been for staff at the Ministry
of Health. However, lobbying for the gender approach in the sector was carried out in a
sporadic, non-continuous way and without any monitoring and evaluation.

7.3.3. The MAFFEPA helpline and counselling centre

Established in 1992, MAFFEPA’s helpline deals with over a thousand requests each year and
is active in making the rights of women and the family known. It has increased its services
with the creation of a voice server (1840), intended to bring the Ministry’s services even closer
to citizens. It has two lines: 1308 that provides data, information and practical knowledge
regarding health, family planning and personal status, and 1392 that receives and processes
requests from women relating to marital and family relationships and violence in all its forms,
with the aid of a multidisciplinary team of consultants: a psychologist, a lawyer, a sociolo-
gist and a social worker. Assistance is requested from other specialist fields if the situation
requires it. Since the adoption of the national strategy for combating GBV, the MAFFEPA
helpline has specialised in responding to questions on this subject by training its staff to
listen and to give counselling.

7.4. Strategies and actions for combating

gender-based violence
7.4.1. The absence of specific legislation
The GBV issue has been addressed in Tunisia through the combined efforts of civil society,
in particular women’s NGOs and state mechanisms (MAFFEPA and ONFP), and through the
support of international donors, mainly UN agencies and bilateral cooperation in Europe.

The GBV issue was of interest to NGOs working to achieve women’s human rights before
it was of interest to State mechanisms. The authorities were silent for a long time regarding

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violence suffered by women, refusing to treat it as a social phenomenon resulting from his-
torically unequal social relationships and treating cases of violence on a case-by-case basis.

There is no specific law on violence against women and the reforms that have been intro-
duced have focused on both spouses but not specifically on women. Thus, in the Code of
Personal Status, it is possible for a woman or a man to request divorce due to injury suffe-
red but conjugal rape is still ignored by the law and may not serve as the basis for criminal
action against a rapist husband. On the other hand, the Penal Code mentions aggravating
circumstances in Article 218 paragraph 2, amended in 1993, in the event of violence and
threats if the perpetrator of the aggression is a descendant or a the spouse of the victim: it
doubles the imprisonment and the fine24.

In the same way, the Penal Code has criminalised sexual harassment since 2004 following
the recommendations resulting from women’s meetings (“Women and Development” Com-
mission) and campaigns led by NGOs for women’s rights, notably including the ATFD.
Nevertheless, Article 226 ter of the Penal Code, added by the law of 2 August 2004, has
remained incomplete.

On the one hand, the emphasis is not on the specific nature of the act of sexual harassment
as an act of authority by which the harasser is abusing their hierarchical power. Article 226 ter
defines sexual harassment as “any persistence to the embarrassment of others by the repe-
tition of acts or words or gestures likely to damage their dignity or affect their modesty and
this with the aim of causing them to submit to the perpetrator’s sexual desires or to the
sexual desires of another party, or by exerting pressure on them to weaken their will to resist
these desires”. This failure to take the specific nature of harassment into account explains
why this is not included in the Labour Code or in the civil service law, even though it is most
frequent in the workplace, at school and at university. In addition to a definition that places
the emphasis on abuse of power or authority, specific sanctions such as dismissal should, for
instance, have been mentioned in the Labour Code and the civil service law.

On the other hand, Article 226 quater states that “if a nonsuit or acquittal is pronounced
then compensation shall be owed to the victim of the false accusation”, i.e. to the harasser.

7.4.2. The national strategy and partnerships

As regards the socio-economic handling of the issue, it was not until the NGO ATFD opened
a women’s help and counselling centre in 1993 that women victims of violence started, little
by little, to talk about their suffering and to break the silence. The help and counselling centre

24
Article 218 paragraph 2 stipulates: “if the perpetrator of the aggression is a descendant or spouse of the victim,
the penalty is two years imprisonment and two thousand Dinars”

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for women victims of violence has gained extensive experience since then in supporting
women victims of violence but also in lobbying through reports that have been drawn up
and sent to policy-makers since 2001.

In 2002, the GBV issue was addressed by policy-makers, notably MAFFEPA. A study was
conducted by the Ministry to determine the prevalence of the phenomenon, the categories
of women most affected by violence and the factors behind violence against women and
to propose guidelines for a strategic plan for combating GBV. Although they only partially
responded to the issues mentioned, the results provided a basis for further reflection on the
issue. Thus, a strategy was developed in 2007 to prevent and to combat violence against
women (with support from the UNFPA and UNDP and with Spanish cooperation).

The national strategy for “combating violence in the family and in society” which includes
a component on “Gender-based violence (GBV)” has been implemented by MAFFEPA in
partnership with the various governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. That said,
GBV has been diluted into a broader concept of violence within the family and in society.

The implementation of the strategy “Gender equality and the prevention of violence against
women” is essentially carried out by the National Office for Family and Population (Tunisia)
(the ONFP).

These two national strategies on GBV are based on four main areas, namely:

• the establishment of a strategy of awareness, training, information and lobbying in comba-

ting GBV amongst policy-makers and stakeholders and the launching of strategic thinking
in order to define the needs of each stakeholder within the sector and the counselling
of women victims of violence;
• the creation of a multidisciplinary team for the design and integration of gender-based
violence (reception and care of women victims of violence in the services concerned);
• the implementation of a sectoral system for referral, counselling and support for these
victims;
• The development of a system for collecting and analysing data on GBV in partnership with
the structures involved. An intelligence, monitoring and evaluation agency for gender-
based violence, through the creation of a national database on gender-based violence
(GBV), must be put in place together with programmes for combating GBV.

The focuses of the strategies are intended to resolve the difficulties faced by MAFFEPA,
the ONFP and their partners when they were created, namely the absence of a definition of
gender-based violence, the lack of any exchange of data and results of studies and research,
the absence of any collection of specific data tailored and standardised across the sectors
and institutions involved (police, national guard, health service, social affairs, NGOs).

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The implementation of the national policy for combating violence, which was to start in
2008, still faces difficulties in completing its various stages. The cross-functional nature of
the issue, the coordination difficulties between governmental institutions and voluntary
organisations, and the lack of human and financial resources remain the main causes for the
slow implementation of the national strategy. In the context of the introductory visit of the
programme for “Enhancing Equality between Men and Women in the Euromed Region”
(EGEP), the possibility was raised of Tunisia benefiting from the regional method to be
developed in 2009 by EGEP.

In this context, the cooperative project on “Gender mainstreaming and combating gender-
based violence” (MAFFEPA, UNFPA, UNDP), which began in 2007, aims to contribute to the
development of the operational plan of the national strategy for combating gender-based
violence and its implementation at national, regional and sectoral levels. The project aims
to make data available that will make it possible to identify the phenomenon, to develop
relevant and appropriate interventions and to develop methodologies, tools and systems
of reference for creating and/or consolidating support services for women who were victims
of violence. Furthermore, this project aims to support the work of coalitions in combating
violence against women through lobbying aimed at changing attitudes and the application
of laws.

Other incentives to raise public awareness of the phenomenon of GBV have been deployed,
for instance, on the occasion of the celebration of the International Day for the Elimination
of Violence against Women, or 25 November each year. In its press release of 25 Novem-
ber 2008, MAFFEPA thus announced the launch of a freephone line for help and counselling
for women who have been victims of violence. Moreover, the ONFP has produced tools for
raising public awareness of the incidence of GBV, such as a documentary broadcast in its
centres and delegations and plays.

7.4.3. NGO initiatives

Although the national strategy is supervised by MAFFEPA, the involvement of NGOs in
dealing with the violence suffered by women is also important.

As an example, the NGO ATFD has undertaken action to combat violence since its creation
in 1989, through legal advice, support through referral to the relevant services and awa-
reness-information through campaigns. In March 1993, the association set up a Centre for
Help and Counselling for Women Victims of Violence (CEOFVV), whose involvement includes
legal referral services and psychological support. The Centre is also a place of free speech,
condemnation of violence against women and making the different stakeholders and decision-
makers aware of the phenomenon of GBV. The association has thereby acquired substantial

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experience in listening and social and psychological care. However, the lack of resources
available to the association has prevented it from increasing its involvement at a regional
and local level and from improving its provision of care, its monitoring of women victims of
violence and networking with the other NGO or institutions involved in GBV.

The UNFT provides support for women victims of violence by providing them and their chil-
dren with accommodation for a period not exceeding three weeks at two centres created for
this purpose: one in Tunis and the other in Sousse. These two centres have the following aims:

• to welcome women and girls over 18 years of age who have suffered violence;
• to guarantee temporary accommodation for threatened women with the assurance of
moral assistance and medical supervision;
• to allow threatened women/victims to access the legal system and learn about their rights
and the help mechanisms available;
• to help with reconciliation between the woman resident and her spouse;
• to ensure continued monitoring of the parties involved and to facilitate their reintegration
in social and economic life.

As an indication, the UNFT centres welcomed and referred 1,266 cases in 2006, 1,187 in 2007
and 420 in 2008. The actions and interventions of the two UNFT centres are consolidated
by the office of social action, whose task is to advise, to inform, to guide and to intervene.

AFTURD is also active in combating GBV, specifically through the project “Positive actions
for women’s citizenship rights and equal opportunities in the Maghreb” within the framework
of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, supported by the Mediterranean Institute (IMED or
Instituto per il Meditarraneo, Rome). The overall objective of this project is to contribute to
the preservation, promotion and development of women’s rights. It aimed to set up three
Homes for Women, one in each of the three countries covered by the project (Tunisia, Alge-
ria and Morocco: situated in Tunis, Algiers and Tangiers). These Homes are multifunctional
centres and are intended to raise awareness of women’s rights and equal opportunities, to
provide information, listening, counselling and legal and psychological assistance and to
monitor the status of women’s rights (permanent observatory of rights).

AFTURD made the Home for Women in Tunis, set-up in 2001, into a headquarters that is
used to launch activities relating to violence. The booths for listening and legal and psycho-
logical assistance are mechanisms maintained by specialised experts who offer legal advice
and counselling (family law, labour law, union law, etc.), health information and counselling
(sexuality, reproductive health, STDs) and listening and psychological support (mental health,
relationship and educational difficulties). Amongst its actions to combat GBV, AFTURD has
also mobilised young people to produce a short film about violence.

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One of the shortcomings experienced when considering the national strategy for combating
violence, which has also been noted in other sectors, concerns the lack of data disaggregated
by gender. This fact was already reported by the Committee for monitoring the implementa-
tion of CEDAW, in 2002, during the examination of combined reports 3 and 4. There is very
little data on: prostitution, women with special needs, women who suffer violence, single
mothers, women who are the head of the family and female prisoners, amongst others.

With the aim of addressing the lack of data disaggregated by gender on the phenomenon of
violence and its prevalence in all environments and in all regions, the ONFP started a survey
on the prevalence of GBV in the context of a regional Arab project.

7.4.4. Combating human trafficking

Furthermore it should be noted that the CEDAW Committee invited “Tunisia to include infor-
mation and data on the trafficking of women and girls and the exploitation of prostitution in
its next report and to indicate the measures taken to prevent and combat it and to protect
and rehabilitate women and girls who have been victims of it”25. To this end, we note that
Tunisia has ratified and adhered to several international instruments on human trafficking.
These instruments include:

• The United National Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (pursuant to law
n°2002-63 of 23 July 2002);
• The Additional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Orga-
nised Crime to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women
and Children (pursuant to law n° 2003-5 of 21 January 2003);
• The Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing
the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (pursuant to law n° 2003-6
of 21 January 2003);
• The two Optional Protocols to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The first on
the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the second relating to
the involvement of children in armed conflict (pursuant to law n° 2002-42 of 7 May 2002).

In the process, legislative and institutional measures were taken for the prevention and
abolition of the trafficking and the prostitution of women and girls as well as the integration
of prostitutes.

The following legal mechanisms form the basis for the State initiatives to eradicate the
human trafficking phenomenon:

25
See the final observations of the CEDAW Committee: Tunisia.2002, A/57/38, para.197

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• The Child Protection Code (CPE) protects girls against all forms of trafficking;
• The Penal Code (PC) protects women and girls against all forms of trafficking, by cri-
minalising the abduction of a person by fraud, violence or threats, child abandonment,
the sexual abuse of children, the sexual abuse of children by relatives or persons with
a moral influence over them, the sexual exploitation of children and their subjection to
prostitution, incitement to riot or incitement to the corruption of minors, rape commit-
ted with violence, the use or threatened use of weapons, the ban on the prostitution
of women outside the legal framework and the punishment of illegal prostitution even
if occasional or temporary, with six months to two years imprisonment and a fine. Any
person who had sexual relations with one of these women, committed sexual harassment,
false imprisonment or lived off immoral earnings shall be considered an accomplice and
be liable to the same penalty. The PC also stipulates an extraterritorial clause (crimes
committed outside the country) and the ban on stays for offenders.
• The Judicial Police, Social Welfare Sub-Department, Department for the Protection of
Minors under the Ministry of the Interior and Local Development, is making an effort to
investigate crimes of sexual and economic exploitation perpetrated against children and
is working to fight against sex tourism and against crimes committed through the use
of new technologies.

7.5. Monitoring and implementing the Istanbul

Ministerial Conclusions
Tunisia, which adhered to the Barcelona Process and participated in the Istanbul Confe-
rence (2006), expressed its full commitment to the implementation of the Istanbul Ministerial
Conclusions. Tunisia’s annual questionnaires on the implementation of the Conclusions of
the Conference have been the subject of periodic reports prepared on the initiative of the
European Union. In the context of the different Istanbul follow-up reports drawn up by EGEP,
Tunisia mentions the priorities for action in the coming years (beyond 2009) as the issue of
GBV, women’s economic rights and access to employment, empowerment of rural women
and the implementation of a national strategy for equality for women. That said, although
almost five years have passed since it was held, few people are aware of the Istanbul Confe-
rence and even fewer of the scope of its Conclusions. In interviews held in the context of this
report, few people, except for the executives of MAFFEPA and people belonging to women’s
NGOs, seemed to us to have understood the Conclusions and the degree of commitment
on the part of Tunisia to the Istanbul process.

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The people who understand the Conclusions are unanimous about the need to strengthen
women’s rights in accordance with the spirit of the Conclusions, namely the three pillars of
human rights: political-civil, socio-economic and cultural.

Although the reports for Tunisia show the progress made in strengthening women’s civil,
political, social, economic and cultural rights, actions could usefully be developed to era-
dicate all forms of discrimination against women in accordance with CEDAW, Beijing and
Istanbul. Moreover, at a national level, the follow-up of Istanbul is not yet structured insofar
as it has not led to the establishment of a national commission responsible for drawing up
periodic reports for Istanbul.

The priority areas for Tunisia reflected in the interviews held with Tunisian players for following
up the Istanbul Conclusions focus on:

• combating violence against women;

• disseminating the culture of women’s rights;
• promoting intercultural exchange;
• statistics disaggregated by gender and gender budgeting;
• reconciliation between professional and family life;
• promotion of female entrepreneurship, capacity building;
• the participation of women in public and political life.

Consequently it appears that the results of the interviews for this report correspond with the
priorities expressed by the Tunisian Government in its responses to the follow-up question-
naire from the European Union concerning the Istanbul Ministerial Conclusions.

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8. Analysis of the results and priorities

for future action

8.1. Main results of the situation analysis

In view of Tunisia’s achievements in promoting equality in terms of laws, mechanisms, poli-
cies and programmes and commitments aiming to implement the Conventions to which it
subscribes, notably CEDAW and the Conclusions of the Istanbul Ministerial Conference, the
opportunities offered by the national context for achieving gender equality and the obstacles
and resistance that limit women’s full enjoyment of their equal rights include:

Legal reforms

The Tunisian State has taken a series of measures to eliminate discrimination and to achieve
de facto equality. Efforts were concentrated on the legal and institutional aspects, including
the setting up of new institutional mechanisms.

The analysis of the state of gender equality in Tunisia has shown a non-discriminatory Consti-
tution and egalitarian laws which have evolved over the years in such a way that women’s
rights have progressed in the family and in social, economic, political and cultural fields, but
the impact and pace of these differs from one field to another.

Progress in terms of equality has made Tunisian law favourable to women. This pioneering
experience remained unique for a long time in the Arab-Muslim context. This is especially
true as Tunisian laws were strengthened due to Tunisia’s ratification of the international
Conventions on the status of women, headed by CEDAW. Tunisia has also endorsed the
Beijing Platform with its twelve priority areas, as well as the Conclusions of the Istanbul Confe-
rence, with special attention paid to gender-based violence, in addition to strengthening the
rights enshrined in CEDAW. Tunisia also ratified the Optional Protocol to CEDAW in 2008.

However, although the Constitution states that all citizens are equal, it does not include a
definition of discrimination in accordance with Article I of CEDAW.

Oscillating between modernity and tradition, between reformism and conservatism, between
continuity and change, between reconciliation and a break with Islamic law, the Code of
Personal Status is a significant contribution to the changing of attitudes and traditions, but
it is still part of the patriarchal order of which it is a manifestation and its foundations are

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supported by unequal or discriminatory rules in cultural and religious references and in the
sanctification of these rules.

Therefore, from a legal standpoint and despite the major reforms in Tunisian legislation, some
shortcomings remain, notably those which were the cause of the reservations to CEDAW.
These notably include laws relating to the marriage of Muslim women to non-Muslims, inhe-
ritance law, the Nationality Code and the concept of patriarchy (the husband is the head of
the family). To make the legislation comply with the commitments involved in the ratification
of CEDAW and the adherence to the Beijing Platform, the State should introduce the neces-
sary legal amendments. This is both possible and conceivable, as Tunisia has introduced
pioneering amendments in the past.

In order to remove the reservations, an advocacy action must be engaged involving govern-
ment institutions and segments of civil society. The different messages that could be pre-
pared by mutual agreement between the parties concerned, and depending on the target
groups: policy-makers, lawyers, parliamentarians, Imams, etc., could circulate as advocacy
instruments for the lifting of the reservations.

Combating stereotypes

Resistance to stereotypes has been cited by the players interviewed in the context of this
report as the main cause for the discrepancy that exists between the legislative texts that are
considered egalitarian and the reality of the status of women at all levels. Studies have shown
that the division of tasks between men and women is still done according to a traditional
view. A recent study by the MAFFEPA has shown that the difference between the genders
is most striking in the time spent on domestic chores. Across all categories, women spend
eight times more time than men in carrying out domestic chores and caring for children and
the family’s dependents.

The creation of a communication strategy for the eradication of the stereotypes prevalent in
the private sphere and the public sphere seems necessary in this regard. It should take the
ambiguity of the value systems spread by Tunisian culture into consideration: a modernist
system open to others and particularly turned to the northern shore of the Mediterranean
and another system that finds its roots in the patriarchal system of Arab-Muslim Tunisia. The
great fear is that the latter system will gain the upper hand in the wake of the rise of funda-
mentalism and religious fanaticism that has affected pioneering and egalitarian reforms of
almost a century.

The different groups must be targeted, by different means and different media in order to
disseminate a culture of equality.

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Concerning schooling, this means carrying out a major overhaul of all teaching textbooks
so that gender equality becomes a fundamental principle in education. The emphasis may
be placed on the different roles assumed by women in all sectors and areas of private and
public life.

The teaching of human rights and the propagation of a culture of women’s rights, in parti-
cular, would help to reduce resistance to the application of gender equality in daily life, as
well as to entrench values of equality at a decision-making level in both private and public
life in current and future generations. It would be important in the context of a communica-
tion strategy to increase the number of women’s human rights training workshops and the
amount of training targeted at the young, to ensure a better acceptance and spreading of
women’s rights.

In order to make egalitarian values take root, the association of the media to such a strategy
is of paramount importance; all the more so as the studies conducted on the image of women
in the media have shown that the image reflected is in no way objective, nor does it conform
to the status of Tunisian women or to the role they fulfil within the family and in society.

The family is another major player in the combating of stereotypes. To change attitudes
within the family, MAFFEPA may benefit from the various national action plans for which it
is responsible. Actions may be carried out to target the attitudes and behaviour adopted
by different members of the family: men, women, young people and children. As society is
the extension of the family, any changes in attitudes that occur will have a definite impact
on women’s enjoyment of equality in the public sphere.

Finally, a major communication campaign should be planned aimed at the authorities, where
the resistance of the stereotypes that bar the way to women’s participation in decision-
making can be seen. Far from being created by legislation or regulations, this resistance to
the penetration of women onto the labour market and in particular decision-making posts is
the work of individual behaviour. Making policy-makers sensitive to gender would therefore
be a major component in the communication strategy to be planned.

Institutional and financial capacities for gender equality

The State has taken the initiative to create mechanisms able to enshrine the declared equality
in the legislation. The efforts of the mechanisms have produced positive results and progress
at different levels. However, much remains to be done to deal with ever-greater expectations
in terms of gender equality in various fields.

The lack of human and financial resources made available to MAFFEPA and the lack of data
disaggregated by gender are also barriers to the implementation of a gender equality policy.

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An analysis of the implementation of the Action Plan for the Advancement of Rural Women
at a central and regional level, headed by MAFFEPA in partnership with other ministerial
departments and NGOs for women and development, illustrates the impact of the lack of
financial resources, as the project was first postponed and then its objectives were reduced.

Despite the political will, the institutional and legal reforms and the policies and strategies
adopted, in terms of budgets, women’s issues have never been considered as a priority
over development issues. This situation is not unique to Tunisia as the evaluations have
shown that the majority of national women’s mechanisms around the world, created after the
Beijing Conference, lack funding and the resources appropriate for their mandate. Where
available, the resources allocated to the “women’s” component or to “gender” action plans
in budget planning are often woefully inadequate and do not make it possible to achieve
the stated objectives26.

Historically, bilateral and multilateral donors intervened to help fund programmes and acti-
vities relating to gender equality and women’s rights. In this way, Tunisia has benefited
from technical and financial support from donors so that it could achieve equality and the
integration of gender into national planning. A number of projects have been implemented
in the context of bilateral cooperation (mainly with European partners) and multilateral coo-
peration (mainly with the UN system). Thanks to this support, MAFFEPA and its governmental
and non-governmental partners are involved in the implementation of national strategies.
However, this funding poses the question of the sustainability of the efforts and the accoun-
tability of national budgets.

In terms of data disaggregated by gender, despite the efforts made by the National Statistics
Institute (INS) to include gender in the statistical system, some sectors have not introduced
gender in a systematic way and do not consider the place occupied by women in their pro-
grammes and actions. Numerous national reports evaluating economic and social policy do
not carry out an analysis by gender. The generalisation of gender in statistics would allow
greater control over the status of equality as well as more a focussed planning of public
intervention.

Economic empowerment of women

Despite non-discriminatory laws in the economic sphere, discriminatory practices persist,

impeding the full participation by women in economic life and slowing down their access to
decision-making. This is related to the fact that the State is still not always able to guarantee
equality in employment, especially in the private sector. There is a risk that the situation will
become complicated because of the negative effects of globalisation on women’s work and

26
Nabila Hamza: analysis of mechanisms (Tunisia)-RWEL- EUROMED; 2006

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notably in threatened sectors, particularly the textile, clothing and leather industries, where
women represent over 76% of the workforce and 25% of the working female population.
The Tunisian State must consequently face the challenges represented by globalisation, the
freeing up of the markets and the liberalisation of the economy, by adapting its economy
to the demands of globalisation in terms of innovation, quality and flexibility. Likewise,
the redeployment of the female workforce should be the subject of a plan for government
intervention under MAFFEPA and its partners.

The participation of women in political decision-making

The political participation of women remains limited and does not truly reflect the role played
by Tunisian women at a social and economic level. Through affirmative action and in accor-
dance with the recommendations of CEDAW, the Tunisian State has consequently quantified
the objectives to be achieved in terms of the presence of women in decision-making positions.
The plan was to increase the percentage of women in decision-making positions to 30% by
the end of 2009, which coincides with the end of the Presidential programme (2004-2009).
The rate is currently 22.5% in the civil service, where women represent 40% of the personnel.

That said, despite the political will, the quota has not been stipulated by law, which would
commit the political parties and would lead to a better consideration of women’s needs. In
other sectors, particularly at a government level, it would be necessary to provide “quotas”
for official positions in order to achieve the 30% target. These quotas could be introduced by
means of a circular from the Prime Minister following the example of what has been achieved
at governorate level as regards the appointment of members of the regional councils, which
stipulates at least two women in each Council.

8.2. Priorities for future action

Priorities and strategic interventions are the summary of what the actors interviewed expressed
and what emerged from the national strategy assessment reports or the reports on the imple-
mentation of international conventions and platforms.

8.2.1. Gender mainstreaming

The efficiency of a gender policy does not only depend on its adoption by MAFFEPA. Quite
the contrary, to be able to talk of gender policy, all the ministerial departments and all the
partner institutions of MAFFEPA in the implementation of the various strategies should include
gender in their work policy both at a central level and at a regional/local level. This means

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the integration of gender at a statistical level and the systematic adoption of the approach
at all levels and in all the different sectors.

8.2.2. Combating violence against women

The MAFFEPA is expected to start to implement the various components of the national
strategy to combat GBV, together with the ONFP, including the sectoral plans and the
communication strategy which supports the implementation of the action plan. This means
mobilising the general public and the media regarding the impact of GBV on women, the
family and society.

8.2.3. The promotion of female entrepreneurship

Although the participation of Tunisian women in economic life is increasing and the fact that
women’s economic rights have been strengthened in practice by the creation of several effec-
tive mechanisms, such as the support mechanism for women’s economic initiatives, women
represent 26.6% of the working population in Tunisia, which does not reflect the breakthrough
of young girls into all educational cycles and their success rates in different degrees.

Experience has shown the economic vulnerability of women in times of crisis. It is therefore
essential to equip the first line participants (MAFFEPA, NGOs) with the aim of strengthening
the economic capacitation of women. In other words, this means better access to resources,
better mastery of new technologies, access to profitable employment and a better partici-
pation in decision-making in the private (family) and public (workplace) spheres.

8.2.4. Increasing capacities and women’s participation in public

and political life
Empowering women is a way increasing their participation in decision-making in the public
sphere and of reducing the gaps found at this level, in order to achieve gender equality. The
programmes and projects currently being carried out by the different actors are certainly
welcome. Nevertheless, other actions could be considered, especially in terms of commu-
nication and reconciliation between professional, family and political life.

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9. Prospects for future action

The prospects for future action given below are the result of the situation analysis, interviews
with certain actors and the validation workshop held on 11th August 2009 at the headquarters
of CAWTAR in Tunis. These prospects relates to the following points:

CEDAW
The reservations to CEDAW must be lifted and certain provisions of the convention must
be implemented “effectively”.

The Istanbul Conference and the Euromed process

The recommendations of the Euromed Human Rights Network (EMHRN) must be taken into
consideration regarding the implementation and monitoring of the Istanbul Conclusions.
Namely: ensuring countries’ commitment to respecting gender equality and having interna-
tional standards as a reference; creating a follow-up mechanism at a regional level; including
equality in the title of the conference; making financial commitments for the implementation
of conclusions; establishing an independent follow-up mechanism ; improving the position
of women in the decision-making bodies of the Euromed process and promoting equality
in decision-making through affirmative action.

GBV
The stakeholder partners must be trained in the implementation of the national strategy for
combating GBV so that they can advocate, and a specific law on violence against women
must be adopted.

Gender equality
It is necessary to: create networking between “gender” focal points; change the laws so they
are based on equality (e.g. amendment Article 23 of the Code of Personal Status to remove
the authority of the father as the head of the family and replace it with parental authority,
which implies a shared responsibility between both parents); work to improve the visibility
of gender in the media, in order to create attitudes favourable to the improved integration
of women; ensure the creation of the gender focal points; stimulate reflection on the gender

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issue in various areas of life (work, school, university, private life); and create skills for the
integration of gender.

The involvement of civil society and NGOs

It is necessary to promote Euro-Mediterranean coordination at the UfM level and at the level
of the neighbourhood policy, involving NGOs.

Women and international crises (economic and cultural)

It is necessary to study the impact of the financial crisis on the status of women in terms of
equality, involvement in decision-making and GBV, in order to take adequate measures. It
is also necessary to face up to the threat of religious extremism, which presents a serious
threat to the advances gained by women and their emancipation.

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10. Bibliography
• 5th and 6th periodic reports from Tunisia on the implementation of the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1999-2007). To be presented
to the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, April 2009
• Adaptation of the Millennium Development Goals to the national context: Towards MDG-
Plus for Tunisia, Jacques Charmes: May 2006-July 2006
• Questionnaire of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and
consequences by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: The political
economy of Women’s Rights: gender-based violence – Report by Tunisia, January 2009
• Audit/gender analysis: A tool for self-diagnosis and planning/Gender audit results for
MAFFEPA – Dorra Mahfoudh and Mohamed Moussa : Tunis, 4 June 2009
• British Council: A Critical Assessment of Women’s Machinery/Les mécanismes nationaux
de promotion de la femme: report and conclusions: the case of Tunisia. Nabila Hamza.
September 2006
• Burn Nalini: Operational context for gender-sensitive statistical information. MAFFEPA/
UNDP. July 2006. Tunis
• Committee for the elimination of discrimination against women: Consideration of the
reports submitted by the States parties under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimi-
nation of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women – Third and fourth periodic reports
from Tunisia (June 2002)
• Dorra Mahfoudh: Gender and participation of women in public life in Tunisia – MAFFEPA-
UNFPA-UNDP Project – Tunis, 2008
• Hinda Gafsi: Ministry of the Environment – GTZ Tunis, 2008
• Instraw: Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women: new challenges. Beijing
after 10 years: From policy to practice. www. un-instraw.org
• MAFFEPA: Report by Tunisia on the implementation of the Istanbul Conclusions: 2007,
2008
• MAFFEPA: Tunisia’s report on Good Governance/Chapter: Gender and Good Governance
(UNDP -Tunis, 2008)
• Noureddine SRAIEB, “Islam, réformisme et condition féminine en Tunisie: Tahar Had-
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• Parliamentary Assembly of the French-Speaking World (APF) Reports of the sub-regional
seminar of the network of women members of parliament (North Africa and the Middle
East) on THE CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINA-
TION AGAINST WOMEN - Tunis (Tunisia), 30 and 31 October 2006
• Project “Strengthening women’s leadership and consolidating women’s participation in
political life and the decision-making process in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia”: Mapping

Women’s Human Rights and Gender Equality – 73

 Nationall Si
Sit
Situation
t Analysis Report – Tunisia

the situation of the participation of women in political life in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia,
by Boutheina GRIBAA, Regional Advisor of the Project – March 2009
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Ministry for Women, Family, Childhood and the Elderly/National Office for the Family and
Population/United Nations Population Fund/United National Development Programme
-2007
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ratory Assistance between UNDP and MAFFEPA (2006-2007)

74 – Women’s Human Rights and Gender Equality

 Enhancing Equality between Men and Women
in the Euromed region (2008-2011)
Programme financed by the European Union

http://www.euromedgenderequality.org/

Translated from French original version

Last update: July 2010
 National Situation
Analysis Report:

Women’s Human Rights

and Gender Equality

Tunisia

Enhancing Equality between Men and Women

in the Euromed region (2008-2011)
Programme financed by the European Union

EN