One of Tunisia's many success stories is told by its women. It is the story of a country that has decided through sheer political will and commitment to progress and modernity, to promote equal rights for women based on its long standing tradition of reform. From the Code of Personal Status set up in 1956 by the late Leader, Habib Bourguiba to President Ben Ali's Tunisia, the strides accomplished by Tunisian women have been substantial. In his book, ìWomen in Shari'a and Societyî, published in 1930,Tahar Haddad wrote that ìwoman is the mother of man and the second part of the nation, both in quality and in quantityî. He added that ìif we underestimate women and forget the discredit they suffer from, we are only indulging in the low-esteem we have for ourselves. Since then, a battery of laws has anchored gender equality in Tunisia, making it one of the countries where women's rights are the most respected. A few landmarks eloquently show how women's empowerment has become a reality today. If the Code of Personal Status was the main trigger towards the emancipation of Tunisian women, the successive reforms brought about by President Ben Ali in 1993, 1998, 2002 and 2004 proved determining for the code's survival and sustainability. Under President Ben Ali, the Code was given a new life, giving women more rights such as enabling single mothers to give their name to their children, the right to launch genetic investigations to determine paternity, the abolition of the duty of obedience towards the husband, the legal right to alimony, the granting of Tunisian citizenship to children born abroad from a Tunisian mother and a non-Tunisian father as well as the law criminalizing sexual harassment. Today, that success story is enshrined in the volunteering action of the Tunisian First Lady, Mrs. Leila Ben Ali. Since the advent of the Change of November 7, 1987, she has relentlessly instilled a strong impulse to the promotion of status of women and the family and extended care and attention to both the disabled and the elderly. During her two year mandate (2009-2011) as the Chairwoman of the Arab Women Organization (AWO), she has set up the Arab Women's Commission for International Humanitarian Law, the Arab Day for the Elderly, an Arab Women's Observatory in charge of monitoring the progress accomplished by Arab women. Mrs. Leila Ben Ali's impact on AWO's action towards greater women empowerment in the Arab world, will no doubt yield significant results.
