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was any kind of consultation before the cancellationof Article 53 and proposed changes to itsrelated laws. There are indications that many citizensonly heard about the bill when it was aboutto be tabled before parliament for approval. Evenat that stage, members of parliament did notconsult their constituents. There was a clear consensuson many social media platforms on thatone point.What exactly changed with the new framing ofthe law? What remained? Did the citizens understandthese changes? The answer is “no”. The onemessage that most people understood was “nowmen and women are both heads of the family andthey both pay the bills.” Given that the law wasvoted on towards the end of the year, many menexercised their “legitimate” right not to buy giftsfor their partners, since they had also becomea co-head of the family. In the long run, such anunderstanding will end up being detrimental towomen.Quo vadis?Where do we go from here? What can we do and howcan we do it? Among other steps, it is important to:• Use the internet to establish an observatory ofwomen’s rights. It is important to track laws thatexist, their implementation and their outcomes.• There is a great need for more consultation withthe population. Members of parliament, likeYasmina, need to consult their constituents. Socialmedia networks have proved their capacityto make this happen at little or no cost.• Though there is increased openness in legislativeprocedures in terms of live broadcasting andstreaming of key sessions of the national assembly,more work needs to be done in this area.• There are civil society organisations workingon the promotion and protection of women’srights. They need to be trained to be able tomainstream the use of the internet in their work.Overall, we need more Yasminas who can say “no”so that when we finally say “yes” it will be strong,resolute and sustainable. ■117 / Global Information Society Watch