Progress Amid Resistance

TUNISIA 509Affairs, Solidarity, and Tunisians Abroad has increased benefits to ruralwomen by 55 percent. 85 Social policies and a national solidarity policyhave played an active role in eradicating poverty and diminishing thedisparities, and 20 percent of the GDP is earmarked for this purpose.The effort focuses on developing infrastructure, providing housing aid,improving public health and social aid, and promoting the widespreadgeneral education of boys and girls.Different legal mechanisms and institutions have been set up to helpthe populations most vulnerable to poverty. 86 These entities promote socio -economic progress and permit women and men to participate in the economy,even in rural areas. In 2001, a government action plan was establishedto evaluate the productive aptitudes of women in rural areas and protectthem against all forms of discrimination. However, few figures are availableas to the distribution of funds by gender. A quarter of beneficiaries ofmicrocredit loans in urban areas allocated by the Tunisian Solidarity Bankwere women. 87 The president of the UNFT called for microcredit institutionsto further support women’s initiatives during a meeting of the sixthsession of the Higher Council of Population in March 2009. 88The MAFFEPA, the National Office of the Family and Population Affairs,and feminist groups, including those integrated with political parties andprofessional associations, encourage the government to create conditionsthat improve women’s status and eliminate all forms of gender-based discrimination.The Higher Committee for Human Rights and FundamentalFreedoms, established in 1991, and the Higher Communication Councildemonstrate in their various reports that they are attentive to women’srights and aware of the gender inequalities that persist. 89RecommendationsF The government should initiate development programs at the locallevel and encourage women to participate, so as to reduce the inequalitiesbetween rural and urban areas and between men and women.F The government and nongovernmental agencies should provide adequatetraining to needy women and young girls, taking into considerationtheir particular circumstances and the local needs.F The government should encourage the founding of social clubs thatsupport women and give them a place to discuss their problems withre gard to the family and society, so that they become empowered tofind solutions to the problems that directly affect them.