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.

http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/2/tunisias-new-constitution

近日，突尼斯政府頒布新憲法，首次賦予所有突尼斯人民選舉總統(tǒng)的權(quán)利，保障職場(chǎng)上性別平等。新憲法是社會(huì)團(tuán)體在聯(lián)合國(guó)婦女署和其他組織的支持下共同努力得來(lái)的結(jié)果。為確保決議通過(guò)，聯(lián)合國(guó)婦女署與突尼斯民主婦女協(xié)會(huì)和其他非政府組織詢問(wèn)并了解當(dāng)?shù)厝嗣駥?duì)性別不平等的強(qiáng)烈控訴，從社區(qū)中收集證據(jù)，為群眾發(fā)聲；為推進(jìn)制憲進(jìn)程，2013年3月，聯(lián)合國(guó)婦女署成立女性信息調(diào)查研究論證中心，組織以將平等原則納憲為話題的高層辯論會(huì)；2013年4月，聯(lián)合國(guó)婦女署與婦女家庭事務(wù)部，全球女性領(lǐng)袖計(jì)劃的威爾遜中心在圓桌會(huì)議上共同提出“女性權(quán)利應(yīng)納入憲法”的議題。