Islamic Legal Modernism and Women's Emancipation in Tunisia (original) (raw)
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Progressive Realisation of Muslim Family Law: The Case of Tunisia
Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal, 2019
From the time when women's rights were not placed high on the agenda of any state to the time when women's rights are given top priority, Tunisia's gender-friendly legislation requires a fresher look. One would be forgiven for thinking that Tunisia's reforms started after they gained independence from France in the 1950's. In fact, it was during the French Protectorate that reformers started rumours of reform, arguing amongst other issues for affording women more rights than those they were granted under sharia law, which governed family law in Tunisia. After gaining its independence, Tunisia promulgated the Code of Personal Status, which was considered a radical departure from the sharia. It is considered to be the first women-friendly legislation promulgated in the country. It could be argued that Tunisian family law underwent, four waves of reform. The first wave started during the French Protectorate. The second wave started in the 1950's with the codification of Tunisia's family law, which introduced women-friendly legislation. The third wave started in the 1990's with changes to the Code of Personal Status, and the latest wave commenced in 2010. In this article, I analyse the initial, pioneering phases of the reforms resulting from the actions of a newly formed national state interested in building a free society at the end of colonial rule, as well as reforms that have taken place in the modern state since the Arab uprising in Tunisia. As a result of the various waves of reforms, I argue that Tunisia should be seen as the vanguard of womenfriendly legislation in the Arab world.
Tunisia at the Forefront of the Arab World: Two Waves of Gender Legislation
Starting in the 1950s and ever since, Tunisia has implemented gender legislation expanding women's rights in family law. The ground breaking phase occurred with the promulgation of the Code of Personal Status in the mid-1950s during the formation of a national state in the aftermath of independencefrom French colonial rule. Another major phase occurred in the 1990s with citizenship law reforms as embodied in the Tunisian Code ofNationality. As a result ofthese two majorphases, Tunisia has been at theforefront of"womanfriendly" legislative changes in the Arab-Muslim world and is widely recognized as such. At a time when issues of women's rights are not only highly debated, but sometimes violently contested in Muslim countries, the Tunisian case requires examination. This Article documents the two major phases of reforms in favor of women's rights in Tunisia and outlines the conditions that permitted or encouraged the continuity over the last halfcentury. The first wave of reforms in the 1950s transformed the legal construction ofgender roles within the family. The second wave in the 1990s redefined the conditions for the transmission of Tunisian citizenship. In painting social change in broad strokes, I analyze the initial and pioneering phase of the 1950s as a reform resulting from the actions ofa newlyformed national state interested in building a new society at the end of colonial rule. By contrast, the role of women's agency came into play in Tunisia
2007
Starting in the 1950s and ever since, Tunisia has implemented gender legislation expanding women's rights in family law. The ground breaking phase occurred with the promulgation of the Code of Personal Status in the mid-1950s during the formation of a national state in the aftermath of independence from French colonial rule. Another major phase occurred in the 1990s with citizenship law reforms as embodied in the Tunisian Code of Nationality. As a result of these two major phases, Tunisia has been at the forefront of "woman friendly" legislative changes in the Arab-Muslim world and is widely recognized as such. At a time when issues of women's rights are not only highly debated, but sometimes violently contested in Muslim countries, the Tunisian case requires examination. This Article documents the two major phases of reforms in favor of women's rights in Tunisia and outlines the conditions that permitted or encouraged the continuity over the last half century. The first wave of reforms in the 1950s transformed the legal construction of gender roles within the family. The second wave in the 1990s redefined the conditions for the transmission of Tunisian citizenship. In painting social change in broad strokes, I analyze the initial and pioneering phase of the 1950s as a reform resulting from the actions of a newly formed national state interested in building a new society at the end of colonial rule. By contrast, the role of women's agency came into play in Tunisia
Jurnal Syariah, Jil. 27, Bil. 3, 2019
Islam and codification of its family law in countries such as Morocco and Tunisia have taken on a somewhat of a different character depending on the specific setting in which it took place. Even though Islamic thought and in general Islamic law contains core principles observed throughout the Islamic world. Most aspects of Islamic law relating to the family originate in the divine text, while others may be found in customs of certain communities situated in different parts of the Muslim world. Some of the early reforms enacted by states such as Morocco and Tunisia have been hailed as victories for the rights of women especially where Islam is the dominant religion in those countries. A historical and comparative analysis relating to the rights of women reveal that this was not always the case. It may be argued that women rights were ancillary to the main agenda of those respective countries. Issues such as modernity, breaking the shackles of kinsman, classism and political alliances were deemed to be 1 Senior Lecturer, Private Law Department, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, 7535, South Africa, abooley@uwc.ac.za 506 high on the agenda of those countries. In Morocco and Tunisia, the state, early reformers and women's activism played and continues to play an important role or perhaps an indirect role in securing women-friendly rights in the family. In other Muslim jurisdictions, Islamic law has been left intact or very little change has occurred. The argument in those states is that Islamic law cannot be changed or re-interpreted. In this paper we investigate the reforms which have taken place in each country and why these countries have been hailed as being sensitive to the issue of women's rights. Although, these countries have been viewed as the vanguard of women friendly rights inequality does exist as new threats to the securing of women's rights are on the horizon.
The women's movement faced with the challenges of transition and the islamic movement in Tunisia
Women's rights and gender iquality in the Middle East and North África, 2014
The text addresses the struggle of the women's movement in Tunisia after the 2011 popular revolution and the removal of the dictatorship. The Islamists' access to political life in the country has generated a lot of tensions and social conflicts that have crystallized around fundamental rights and freedoms, including those of women. The women's movement has bravely faced every attempt by Islamists to change the laws of the Tunisian Personal Status Code and the way of life of Tunisian society. Women are the bulwark against fundamentalism in Tunisia.
Tunisian Women's Rights before and after the Revolution (2013)
Nouri Gana (ed.), The Making of the Tunisian Revolution: Contexts, Architects, Prospects (pp. 224-251), 2013
This book chapter offers an overview of challenges and opportunities for Tunisian women's rights before and after Tunisia's 2011 revolution. From Nouri Gana’s introduction: “Monica Marks deftly weaves together the ways in which the issue of women’s rights has been used and abused by Bourguiba and Ben Ali to maintain their hold on power. Counter-revolutionary forces, along with a host of opposition parties, have similarly wheeled out the issue of women’s rights in order to show how bad Ennadha would be for women despite Ennahda’s endorsement of the Personal Status Code of 1957 and of a new constitution that does not include Sharia law. What has muddled the waters even further, however, is the rise to prominence of Salafism, one of the most mediatized phenomena in postrevolutionary Tunisia, especially insofar as it directly affects women’s rights.”
Women's rights in Tunisia and the democratic renegotiation of an authoritarian legacy
Since the 2011 revolution, Tunisia has been negotiating what it is to become, a process of rebirth in which women’s rights is key. The ongoing debates reflect a confrontation between the feminist policies of Habib Bourguiba (the first president of the Tunisian republic) and alternative notions of women’s rights. In this article, I examine the debates that are currently taking place in Tunisia. I argue that the topic of women’s rights is crucial in the power struggle between the political elites within Tunisia. It is symbolic of the much wider battle over the future of the country. Moreover, the legislative outcomes of the debates are indicative for the post-revolutionary political dynamics, showing the strength of so-called secularists.
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Cahiers d'études africaines, 2021
In 2017, Tunisia issued the law on violence against women. Both Islamists and non-Islamists were in favor of the law, which was adopted with unanimity by the Tunisian Parliament. Such a development challenges the literature on regime change and women’s rights, which warns for a rollback after regime change. This article examines the limits of the consensus on this new law and the arguments mobilized in the debates.