By using ECSS site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
ECSS - Egyptian Center for Strategic StudiesECSS - Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies
  • Home
  • International Relations
    International Relations
    Show More
    Top News
    Another obstacle on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam?
    June 5, 2020
    Varied paths of reform in Africa
    March 22, 2019
    G20 Membership Justified: Africa and the Road to the G20
    June 14, 2020
    Latest News
    A Parallel Path: How Do Israel’s Right-Wing Parties Handle Being Left Out of the War Government?
    November 30, 2023
    The Social Repercussions of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on Israel
    November 26, 2023
    Indications of Timing: Gaza’s Seventh War
    November 21, 2023
    Multiple Calculations: Normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel 
    November 18, 2023
  • Defense & Security
    Defense & Security
    Show More
    Top News
    A Multi-dimensional Affair: Women and Terrorism in Africa
    June 14, 2020
    On deradicalisation: Marc Sageman and the psychology of jihadists
    June 22, 2020
    Assessing Deterrent Measures and the Prospects of War: US Military Movement in the Gulf to Confront Iran
    June 22, 2020
    Latest News
    A Tactical Evaluation of Gaza’s Military Scene
    November 27, 2023
    Strategic Deception in the October War
    October 5, 2023
    Explaining the Rise of Daesh in Syria
    August 26, 2023
    Clashes in Tripoli: Do Rapid Developments in Libya Clash with the Road Map?
    August 22, 2023
  • Public Policy
    Public Policy
    Show More
    Top News
    Sinai: A Strategy for Development amid Fighting Terrorism
    June 17, 2020
    Egypt’s Comprehensive Vision for Human Rights
    June 22, 2020
    The Right to Health in Egypt
    June 22, 2020
    Latest News
    How do Rumors Affect Egypt’s Financial Inclusion? — The Case of Fawry
    November 28, 2023
    Economic Drain: The Gaza War and Israeli Gas Production
    November 20, 2023
    Egypt’s Industry: Steady Progress and Promising Prospects
    November 11, 2023
    A Surge in Revenues: Reading into the Suez Canal’s Performance and Robust Growth
    November 6, 2023
  • Analysis
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Situation Assessment
    • Readings
  • Activities
    • Conferences
    • ECSS Agenda
    • Panel Discussion
    • Seminar
    • Workshops
  • Shop
  • العربية
  • Defense & Security
  • International Relations
  • Public Policy
All Rights Reserved to ECSS © 2022,
Reading: A Mixed Bag of Responses: Tunisian Women’s Stance on the New Constitution
Share
Notification Show More
Latest News
A Parallel Path: How Do Israel’s Right-Wing Parties Handle Being Left Out of the War Government?
Palestinian & Israeli Studies
How do Rumors Affect Egypt’s Financial Inclusion? — The Case of Fawry
Economic & Energy Studies
A Tactical Evaluation of Gaza’s Military Scene
Defense & Security
The Social Repercussions of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on Israel
Arab & Regional Studies
Indications of Timing: Gaza’s Seventh War
Palestinian & Israeli Studies
Aa
ECSS - Egyptian Center for Strategic StudiesECSS - Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies
Aa
  • اللغة العربية
  • International Relations
  • Defense & Security
  • Special Edition
  • Public Policy
  • Analysis
  • Activities & Events
  • Home
  • اللغة العربية
  • Categories
    • International Relations
    • Defense & Security
    • Public Policy
    • Analysis
    • Special Edition
    • Activities & Events
    • Opinions Articles
  • Bookmarks
Follow US
  • Advertise
All Rights Reserved to ECSS © 2022, Powered by EgyptYo Business Services.
Analysis

A Mixed Bag of Responses: Tunisian Women’s Stance on the New Constitution

Hala Fouda
Last updated: 2022/08/29 at 5:17 PM
Hala Fouda
Share
11 Min Read
SHARE

On 25 July, Tunisian President Kais Saied announced a referendum on the new constitution, a few months after calling for a popular consultation to identify the orientations of Tunisians on various issues and reforms pertaining to the political, economic, and social conditions. The referendum came after several extraordinary procedures introduced by the regime, including the dismissal of the prime minister, suspension of Parliament, and the dissolution of constitutional bodies and the Supreme Judicial Council, replacing the latter with a provisional council. According to the Chairman of the Independent High Authority for Elections, 94.6 percent of the voters approved the amendments. However, there was a low turnout, with only 2,756,607 voters out of 9.3 million entitled voters showing up, in what was described as “limited participation”.

Salient Amendments

One of the salient amendments was made to Article 5 pertaining to the identity of the state. The amended article stipulates: “Tunisia is part of the Islamic nation, and the state alone shall, under a democratic system, work to achieve the goals of pure Islam in preserving life, honor, money, religion, and freedom.”, with the phrase “under a democratic system” added to it.

Article 60 was amended to stipulate that the national legislature can be elected “directly”. Article 84 was also amended to bring the majority needed for ratification of Finance Law and Development Plans to one third of the members.

Another salient amendment enables Tunisian women to run for presidency. In addition, there are other amendments that covered several articles, including the one related to rights and freedoms. The old provision  stipulated that: “No restrictions shall be imposed on the rights and freedoms guaranteed under this Constitution, except pursuant to a law or a necessity required for purposes of national defense, public security, public health, and protection of the rights and public morals…” The new provision stipulates that, “No restrictions shall be imposed on the rights and freedoms guaranteed under this Constitution, except pursuant to a law or a necessity required by a democratic system, with the aim of protecting the rights or for the requirements of public security, national defense.”

Different Responses from Women

Tunisian women’s responses to the constitutional referendum differed widely, both for and against it. Some sided with the new Constitution, seeing the amendments as balanced, coherent, and promising, enabling building a strong nation after the state went through an exceptional political situation following the President’s announcement of exceptional decisions on 25 July 2021. For some feminist activists, the new articles are an additional guarantee of the rights of Tunisian women, particularly the amendment that guarantees their right to run for presidency, which was lacking before. Some expressed their satisfaction with the new Constitution, with it containing 141 articles concerned with public freedoms and economic and social rights, which would improve the status of the Tunisian citizens.

In contrast, others fear for women’s gains from the new Constitution. For many, there is a real threat that portends the atrophy of many gains that long generations have expended considerable efforts to achieve over more than six decades. Some of women’s rights associations criticized the gender-neutral language of the draft constitution and the description of the new constitution as “gender-neutral”. According to Naela az-Zoghlami head of Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, “the inclusion of the phrase “achieving the goals of pure Islam” in Article 5 makes the Constitution non-neutral and makes religion not only a cultural component but an important element of the political and legal life, which would  have repercussions for future legislation, guarantees to be protected, and limits to be imposed by the Constitution, in a clear reference to the law providing for women’s right to receive equal inheritance share as men, approved by the Tunisian Cabinet under the supervision of late President Beji Caid Essebsi.

In the same vein, several women associations affiliated with the Independent Women’s Movement expressed their fears over the absence of reference to a “civil state” in the draft Constitution. The statement of the movement noted: “After the initial reading of the draft Constitution, we express our serious concern over articles included in the Constitution that threaten democracy, public and individual freedoms, citizenship, and equality.” These associations also criticized replacing the phrase “gender equality” with justice. In addition, they expressed their resentment over holding a referendum under an election body that lacked representation of women, considering this measure a discriminatory step that blows the principle of equality provided for in the 2014 Constitution.

Qualitative Gains 

Since Tunisia’s independence in 1956, the country has been constantly trying to assert its political legacy in empowering women. First, it introduced the Code of Personal Status in August 1956, which was promulgated by a beylical decree and became effective in January 1957. It aimed at instituting equality between women and men in various spheres. Back then, the law provided for polygamy and granted women the right to vote, seek divorce, education, and work. In 1973, abortion was legalized and women were given other rights that strengthened their role in public life and supported their position in decision-making positions in the country.

Until today, Tunisian women are still obtaining political and social gains, considered a major milestone in the history of Tunisian women’s struggle, setting an example for their counterparts in the Arab world. On 11 August 2017, Law No. 58 of 2017 on elimination of violence against women was approved, in what feminist societies considered a legislative revolution. In addition, in 2015, the Rights, Freedoms, and External Relations Committee of the Parliament revised Law No. 40 of 1975 and ratified an amendment that provides for elimination of all forms of discrimination, pertaining to minors’ passports issuance and confiscation of passports or licenses in case of unapproved travelling of minors abroad. As such, minors’ traveling became subject to parents, guardian, and the foster mother’s approval after it was confined to the father’s approval.

The most notable gains that Tunisian women obtained are equality in electoral quotas, and public and individual freedoms, as well as the establishment of equal opportunities principle in the Constitution.

Beyond this, Najla Bouden was named prime minister, to become the first Tunisian and Arabian woman to hold this position. Bouden formed a government consisting of 24 ministers and a state secretary. Nine of these ministerial portfolios were assigned to women (ministries of Culture, Finance, Environment, Housing and Spatial Planning, Commerce, Justice, Industry, and Women, Family, and Children, as well as the state secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), accounting for 38 percent of the new government.

Notably, all of these feminist endeavors for empowerment coincided with the rapid change of the Tunisian public opinion over preference of men holding political leadership positions. A survey conducted by the Arab Barometer in July 2022 indicated that, out of nine Arab countries, Tunisia saw the largest decrease in the number of people saying that men are better than women as political leaders, i.e. a decrease of 16 percent (40% down from 65).

A Mixed Blessing? 

Many feminists fear that empowering women could be exploited to achieve implicit goals, far from those publicly stated. For instance, empowerment could be employed as a pretext for legitimizing the ruling regime and gaining international approval, particularly in cases where the regime makes extraordinary decisions that may provoke the international community and the human rights organizations, with Tunisia placed under the watchful eye of the international community.

Additionally, empowering women could be made capital of to upgrade Tunisia’s rank in international classifications, which ultimately bode well for the degree of international satisfaction with the ruling regime. Moreover, the level of empowerment of women in Tunisia could embarrass other Arab countries, particularly in view of the race of Arab and foreign platforms to issue reports comparing the situation of women in Arab countries.

That said, one of the confirmed gains of the empowerment of Arab women, is confronting the political Islam current that ruled several Arab countries, causing social and political damage to the position of women, damages that are still lingering amid the desperate attempts of Arab regimes to remedy their consequences.

Related Posts

The Gaza Events and Telling Facts

The Future of Gaza

The West’s Perspective of Gaza’s Future

Civilian Hostages: A Burden or an Asset?

TAGGED: constitution, Featured, Tunis, women
Hala Fouda August 29, 2022
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn Telegram Email Copy Link Print

Stay Connected

Facebook Like
Twitter Follow
Instagram Follow
Youtube Subscribe

Latest Articles

African Peace Initiative to End Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Opinion Opinions Articles May 24, 2023
Coping with Challenges:
ISIS from Operation Kayla Mueller to the Syria Earthquake
Terrorism & Armed Conflict March 4, 2023
The Catastrophic Repercussions of Climate Change: A Crisis the World Seeks to Avert
Public Policy November 10, 2022
Implications of Leaking Pentagon’s US Policy Documents
American Studies July 9, 2023

Latest Tweets

International Relations

  • African Studies
  • American Studies
  • Arab & Regional Studies
  • Asian Studies
  • European Studies
  • Palestinian & Israeli Studies

Defence & Security

  • Armament
  • Cyber Security
  • Extremism
  • Terrorism & Armed Conflict

Public Policies

  • Development & Society
  • Economic & Energy Studies
  • Egypt & World Stats
  • Media Studies
  • Public Opinion
  • Women & Family Studies

The Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies is an independent non-profit think tank, providing decisions-makers by Policy alternatives, the center was establised in 2018 and comprises a group of experts and researchers from diffrent generations and scientific desciplines. 

All Rights Reserved to Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies - ECSS © 2023

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?