Yesterday, August 13 was Tunisia Women Day. Yesterday, we were celebrating decades of fight to advance the women status. We were celebrating the determination of every single Tunisian mom, sister, daughter … to educate their children, to work as hard or even harder than men, to claim their rights in times where these rights were forbidden, to proof themselves at work and at home regardless of societal and cultural judgments, to be the pillar of the family, and to be the confident and accomplished person that they are. In celebration of this day, here are some historical dates related to the advancement of women status in Tunisia
1956- Introduction of the Code on Personal Status instituted including, the right for women to vote, abolishing polygamy, the right to divorce, abortion, and the obligated access to education.
1980- Tunisia signs the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
1985- Tunisia ratifies the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination with reservations
2011- Tunisia becomes first country in the region to eliminate specific reservations on CEDAW
2011- Tunisia becomes the first country in the Arab world to adopt a gender parity law for political party candidates
2012- “Complementary” provision proposed in the draft Constitution
2014- New Constitution contains robust language on gender equality
2017- Adoption of a new law for the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls, including domestic violence