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The Development of the Feminist Movement in Tunisia 1920s-2000s

By Khedija Arfaoui.

Published by The International Journal of the Humanities

This paper analyzes the development of the feminist movement in Tunisia which went through three phases: the early period from the 1920s to 1956 when the country obtained its independence. Women had very little education, then. Some privileged women formed branches of the prevailing nationalist, socialist or religious movements. They were going to start progressively their feminist quest for equality.

The second period (1956-1970s) saw the promulgation of the Code of Personal Status by Habib Bourguiba; this family code abolished polygamy and repudiation, established judicial divorce and declared women’s equality with men. The National Union of Tunisian Women was also founded by the President. That was the beginning of a State feminism.

The third period started in the 1970s: new generations of women were questioning the weaknesses of the Code of Personal Status. These women were scholars who met to discuss the discriminations they faced as women in spite of their privileged status compared to their sisters in the rest of the Arab world. They were to form autonomous organizations that obtained recognition two years after Zinelabidine Ben Ali took over the Tunisian Presidency in 1989. These organizations are striving to inform women of their rights and of pushing the government to adopt a secular policy, in particular by allowing a woman to inherit the same share as a man.

Keywords: Feminism, State Feminism, Code of Personal Status, Equality, Secular, The Autonomous Feminist Movement

The International Journal of the Humanities, Volume 4, Issue 8, pp.53-60. Article: Print (Spiral Bound). Article: Electronic (PDF File; 1.853MB).

Dr. Khedija Arfaoui

Dr. Khedija ARFAOUI studied English at the University of Tunis where she obtained her B.A. in 1966 and her Certificate of Aptitude to Research on Afro-American Women in 1976. She had her M. Phil. in American Studies and Women’s Studies from the George Washington University (where she was a teaching assistant during two years) in 1992, and her Doctorate from Manouba University in 1996. She taught American Studies, Human Rights and Women’s Studies at the Higher Institute of Languages in Tunis and Manouba University until she retired in 2002. She is still supervising research work. Dr. Arfaoui is interested in research, most particularly on women’s issues, Islam, human rights and peace. An environmentalist at heart, she founded the Association of Development and Protection of the Environment (ADPE) which she chaired during ten years. She is also a feminist and has been an active member of the Association of Tunisian Women for Research and Development (AFTURD)




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