Le Figaro (France) evoked the holding of the AWO's Third Congress in Tunis under the Chairwomanship of Tunisia's First Lady, Mrs. Leila Ben Ali. The Associated Press News Agency (US) reported that AWO's Third Congress in Tunis addressed a number of questions and issues related to the situation of Arab women. One of the major issues raised was that evoked by Mrs. Leila Ben Ali, AWO's Chairwoman, with regard to the violence that Arab women are subject to. This violence, according to Tunisia's First Lady, does have a direct bearing on women's humanity and dignity, and as such, it has to be reported, and condemned. The Global Arab Network, on its part, indicated that among the issues that were addressed was the negative impact that armed conflicts might have on the status of women. Le Nouvel Observateur (France) quotes Tunisia's First Lady, stressing that one of the major challenges facing Arab societies is illiteracy which affects a large number of women especially in rural areas.
