Progress Amid Resistance

TUNISIA 489Together, the Ministry of Women, Family, Childhood, and the Elderly(MAFFEPA), the National Board for Family and Population Affairs, ap -proximately 20 women’s organizations, and women’s committees withinthe political parties actively contribute to the consolidation of women’srights and the reduction of gender-based inequality in all areas. Furthermore,researchers in social sciences are frequently solicited to study women’sissues. Their findings and work, as well as the innovative behavior ofwomen themselves, often meet with resistance by supporters of a conservativeform of Islam.NONDISCRIMINATION AND ACCESS TO JUSTICESince the year 2000, very few new laws that favor women have beenadopted. The bulk of the juridical corpus seems to be in place, and the re -maining legal issues, such as inequality with regard to inheritance, have notprompted fresh reforms. Conflicts within the judiciary continue betweenthose who—referring to the first article of the constitution, which statesthat the religion of Tunisian society is Islam—tend to support Islamiclaw, and those who favor application of substantive law, personal statuscode, and international conventions ratified by Tunisia. An oscillation persistsbetween traditional values and a spirit of innovation as the tendencytoward the principles of equality, nondiscrimination, and liberty continuesto be in competition with the dominant conservative values. 5Tunisia’s primary legal texts were promulgated during the colonialperiod (1881–1955) and were largely inspired by French law, but personalstatus issues remained under the jurisdiction of religious law. Afterin dependence, the personal status code and a unified civil court systemre placed the existing Shari‘a and rabbinical tribunals. The Tunisian constitution,drafted by the National Constituent Assembly and promulgatedon June 1, 1959, was conceived “to guarantee a stable political system.”The Constitutional Council, created in December 1987, did not havethe power to rule on the constitutionality of laws—its role was primarilyadvisory in nature. 6 However, amendments introduced since 1990 requirethat all projects concerning organic law and those pertaining to individualrights and freedoms must be in accordance with the constitution. 7Article 6 of the constitution guarantees the equal rights of all citizens,men and women alike. The preamble affirms that the Tunisian peopleshould “consolidate national unity and remain faithful to human values