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system of government , equality between all citizens regardless of their religious beliefs or sex , and freedom of speech and press . The process was not easy ; it was a real battle to guarantee all these rights . Every category of our society played a role in enhancing these great ideals . But because of a rampant Islamism during that period many women feared for their rights . They had to mobilize and go through a hard and strenuous process in order to protect their rights previously gained after independence in 1956 .
Women played an exceptional role during the pre and postrevolutionary period . Before independence , women were raised in a quite traditional way . Only those living in the capital , Tunis , or in large cities went to school . Their basic function was to get married and raise children . However , at the beginning of the 20th century , many families found this unfair and some started to send their daughters to school . Very few went to French schools , but quite soon Tunisian all-girls schools opened to offer modern education to these girls . The first of these schools opened its doors in the old town of Tunis in 1900 to greet girls and
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give them a modern education based on sciences and languages . I , myself , had the honor to be accepted by this prestigious school , Le Lycée de la rue de Pacha , in the 1970s where I finished secondary education . Therefore , during the first half of the 20th century , girls ’ education started to be perceived as important for many affluent and middle class families . Most of these girls were destined to jobs traditionally reserved for girls , such as teaching or nursing .
However , during our national movement for independence many famous women took part side by side with men in meetings and demonstrations to ask for their right to be free and independent from France . The Tunisian elite at that time , led by President Bourguiba , understood that our society could not evolve and our country could not develop without women ’ s emancipation . Indeed , as soon as we became independent , a new family code was adopted by the first national assembly , the Code of Personal Status ( the CPS ). This revolutionary code is unique in the Arab world until today as it liberated women from any form of social injustice .
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We need to empower women furthermore and make sure to encourage them to hold decisiontaking positions in the future . |
It provided for full equality between men and women , forbade polygamy , banned repudiation , gave women the right to divorce , set the minimum age for marriage , and made girls ’ education compulsory . Therefore , many generations of highly educated women went out to work and became financially independent .
After the revolution of 2011 , many Islamists who were in exile came back to Tunisia and started talking about going back to Sharia that is based on Islamic rules and laws . It was a shock for a number of women . Many feared for their rights and started to denounce these ideas . A long struggle was led in the streets and in the media . A large number of men also joined us and supported us . Secular and progressive political parties helped us fight against these conservative ideas . A very important ideological conflict divided the country . Large sitins were organized in front of the assembly to reject that any Sharia laws be included in the new constitution . On the 13th of August , our National Women ’ s Day , a huge demonstration in which more than half million people took part , the Islamists gave up the idea of imposing any Sharia laws . It was a memorable day , an important victory .
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Today , I am convinced that in my country , no one can take women ’ s rights from them . Women need not only to preserve their rights provided for in the Constitution , but to work hard to reinforce them . We need to empower women furthermore and make sure to encourage them to hold decision-taking positions in the future . I hope to see other women enjoy more rights in the rest of the Arab world . |