WUNRN
TUNISIA - NEW CONSTITUTION A
BREAKTHROUGH FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS
11
February 2014 - Tunis - Tunisia’s new Constitution has captured international
headlines. It enshrines many rights for women and is step in the right
direction, according to many Tunisians.
Sana Ben Achour, women’s rights activist and law student, stresses that this Constitution is the first in the Arab world to give all Tunisians, women and men, the right to be presidential candidates. Similarly, she says that “Article 46 is proof of an impressive advance. From the outset, it safeguards the rights won by Tunisian women by referring to the Code du Statut Personnel (Personal Status Code) of 1959. Back then, the Code established a rights and freedoms panel unheard of in the Arab world.
These included the right to divorce, to marriage by mutual consent and also the banning of polygamy.”
In addition, Ms. Ben Achour said that the State will ensure that there was gender equality in the workplace and it would encourage equality, notably through affirmative action measures.
“Article 46, on equality, guarantees parity between men and women in all elected assemblies, – which is even more progressive considering this has not even been included in the constitutions of the majority of western countries,” said Héla Skhiri, National Programme Officer for UN Women in Tunisia.
These advances are the result of many months of hard work and sustained advocacy. Led by civil society groups, with the support of UN Women and various other organizations, Article 20 guaranteeing equality of rights and responsibilities, was finally passed.
In the lead-up to the vote, UN Women partnered with the NGO Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD), as part of the project titled “Women’s March for a Constitution integrating Equality and Citizenship”, to ensure quality and targeted contributions of civil society organizations during Tunisia’s participatory constitution-drafting process. As a result, members of ATFD and other NGOs consulted and identified strong gender equality arguments that enabled them to carry out evidence-based outreach and advocacy within their respective communities and strengthen their effective participation in the constitution-making process.
To support the constitution-making process, in March 2013 UN Women also supported the Centre for Research, Studies, Documentation and Information on Women (CREDIF) in organizing advocacy events including a high-level debate on the integration of the principle of parity in the Constitution. The event gathered members of the National Constituent Assembly (NCA), government policymakers, and civil society representatives at a crucial moment in the drafting process.
UN Women, in partnership with the Ministry of Women and Family Affairs (MoWFA) and the Wilson Center (Global Women’s Leadership Initiative), also brought together diverse stakeholders at a roundtable on “women’s rights in the making of the Tunisian Constitution” in April 2013 in Tunis, aimed at an exchange of experiences and best practices between different countries of the region on integrating gender equality principles in national constitutions. During the event, 36 participants from governmental institutions and NGOs shared their countries’ experiences in the inclusion of principles of gender equality, human rights and non-discrimination in their respective constitutions.
Hafidha Chekir, lawyer, activist and founding member of the ATFD, took part in these processes. Speaking about UN Women’s important work on the ratification of CEDAW and other rights instruments, she says, “It is important that, in partnership with civil society, it continues to encourage the lifting of restrictions as stipulated in the Constitution. Indeed, it is formulating a positive text and confirming the superior legal force of international conventions. This means that the State is obliged to fulfil its international commitments."
While expectations are high regarding the new Constitution adopted in January, there are concerns.
Ms. Chekir underlined that "in terms of political rights, Article 34 sets out the representation of women in elected assemblies. However, it does not apply to the Government."
Furthermore, the majority of the rights stated refer to the public sphere and are associated with citizenship.
The issue of violence against women, however, is clearly addressed in the text. "The State is obliged to act through public authorities by taking measures to eliminate all forms of violence against women. The way is therefore clear for the necessary legal reforms," reiterated Ms. Ben Achour.
Last year, the Tunisian Government undertook to adopt specific measures to combat gender-based violence through its National Action Plan for the Elimination of Violence against Women, as part of UN Women's COMMIT initiative.
UN Women supports various organizations that fight violence against women in Tunisia and around the world. The organization's efforts for the rights of women include raising awareness on gender equality issues, which will be essential for cementing the new Constitutional guarantees.
"This effort will not be meaningful in practice unless all Tunisians together also participate in establishing this foundation," says Ms. Skhiri. "UN Women can make a real difference as it provides support for effective working and advocacy on the part of civil society in influencing strategies and policies through partnership with government bodies. In addition, and most importantly, it contributes to integrating principles of equality in people's minds."
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----- Original Message -----
From: Lois A. Herman
To: WUNRN ListServe
Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2014 10:24 AM
Subject: Tunisia Enshrines Gender Equality in New Constitution
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TUNISIA ENSHRINES GENDER EQUALITY IN
NEW CONSTITUTION
Tunisia’s constitutional assembly
voted to enshrine equality between men and women in its draft
constitution, safeguarding the country’s status as having the Arab world’s most
progressive laws on women’s right.
The text
enshrining gender equality was approved by 159 lawmakers out of the 169 who
voted. Women's rights activists in Tunisia hailed the provisional approval of article 20,
which states that "all male and female citizens have the same rights and
duties. They are equal before the law without discrimination".
"We
wanted to add details that would ban discrimination based on sex or skin
colour," Ahlem Belhaj, former president of the Tunisian Association of
Women Democrats, told AFP.
"But it
is very good news that (gender) equality has been adopted. It was our demand
and it's a victory," she added.
Tunisia has
set itself a tight timetable for adopting the long-delayed new charter of
January 14, the third anniversary of the overthrow of dictator Zine El Abidine
Ben Ali in the popular revolt that sparked the Arab Spring.
Since the
1950s, when it gained independence from France, Tunisia has had the Arab
world's most progressive laws on women's rights, although men remain privileged
notably in terms of inheritance.
Some have
accused the outgoing Islamist-led government of wanting to roll back those
rights.
Rights
groups have reservations
Ennahda, the
ruling Islamist party, sparked a storm of controversy in 2012 when it tried to
introduce the concept of gender "complementarity" rather than
equality into the post-uprising constitution.
The new text
was agreed during recent negotiations between Ennahda and the secular
opposition, which thrashed out a series of compromises aimed at bringing about
an end to the political crisis triggered by the assassination of an opposition
politician by suspected Islamist militants last year.
Rights
groups had expressed reservations about the article on gender equality, arguing
that it limits the rights to citizens and not foreigners, and does not specify
the prohibited grounds of discrimination.
They urged
the assembly, in a joint statement last week, to "enshrine the principles
of equality and non-discrimination before the law and extend it to anyone
subject to the jurisdiction of Tunisian authorities, including both citizens
and foreigners".
"Article
20 should specify that discrimination, direct and indirect, is prohibited on
the grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status," said
the NGOs, which included Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Article 45,
which would guarantee the protection of women's rights by the state and the
"equality of opportunity for men and women," has yet to be examined.
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