to continuing mobilization for women’s rights. In
October 2003, the government established a com-
mission to examine raising the eligible marriage age
for women to 19; the woman’s right to marry with-
out her family’s consent; increased financial sup-
port from the husband in cases where he decides
unilaterally on separation; housing support for the
children and the mother; and stricter rules on
polygamy. Unlike in Morocco, in Algeria laws
mandate equality of the sexes in the workplace but,
in the Maghrib, Algeria has the lowest proportion
of working women. As in Tunisia, legal statute
mandates that wages be equal for both sexes, but
inequality appears in the differential access each
has to employment, to credit, and to education.
Finally, whereas in Morocco the presence of
women in religious institutions and in business is
the most visible of the three countries, Algeria saw
the participation of a woman candidate in the pres-
idential elections of April 2004.
tunisia
In Tunisia, the Personal Status Code introduced
in 1956 adopted the principle of equality between
men and women, and guaranteed it by constitu-
tional and legislative texts. Polygamy was out-
lawed, the eligible marriage age for girls was raised
to 17 and her consent was required, and guardian-
ship was given to the mother in case of the father’s
death. Adoption was made legal. In 1968, the same
penalties were instituted for the adulterous man as
for the adulterous woman. In 1981, the right to live
in the family residence was given to the woman in
case of divorce as was custody of the children.
Starting in 1993, amendments introduced imposed
upon both spouses the obligation of treating one
another with kindness and mutual aid in running
the household and caring for the children. The
woman’s duty to obey the husband was abolished.
The mother shares in managing the affairs of her
children and the married girl who is still a legal
minor has the right to control her own life and
wealth. A fund to guarantee the payment of food
support for the divorced woman and her children
was established and a woman married to a non-
Tunisian may transmit her nationality to the chil-
dren, with the consent of the father. In cases of
conjugal violence, the situation of matrimony is
considered to be an aggravating circumstance,
leading to more severe penalties; and violence
against a spouse for acts such as adultery are now
treated simply as crimes, with so-called attenuating
circumstances no longer considered. Since 1996,
maintenance payments are awarded to the mother
who has custody of the children, orphan’s pay-
sudan 277ments continue up to the age of 25 if the youth
remains in education, and the possibility of both
spouses to contract an individual loan to buy a
residence is introduced. In the workplace, non-
discrimination between the sexes is mandated.
Now that women have gained new rights and
protective mechanisms, varying greatly from coun-
try to country, several general problems remain
throughout the region. The first involves maintain-
ing the effort to gain further advances. Second, the
awareness women have of their rights needs to
be extended and implementation of these rights
improved – a problem that is particularly acute
among rural women and other underprivileged sec-
tors. Third, in the absence of a democratic political
culture (both on the level of formal politics as well
as within women’s movements themselves), women’s
movements are at risk of being weakened without
having accomplished the deconstruction of domi-
nant representations: on the one hand, dependence
on foreign funds and discourse raises a number of
problems; on the other, they are in danger of being
instrumentalized by their states that may be look-
ing for legitimacy from hegemonic forces abroad as
a way to shore up their own internal authority.Bibliography
A. Belarbi, Femmes et société civile. Réflexions sur le cas
du Maroc, in A. Belarbi et al., Droits de citoyenneté des
femmes au Maghreb. La condition socio-économique
et juridique des femmes. Le mouvement des femmes,
Casablanca 1997, 249–72.
K. Dwyer, Arab voices. The human rights debate in the
Middle East, London 1991.
I. Marzouki, Femmes d’ordre ou désordre de femmes?,
Tunis 1999.
M. K. Remaoun, Le mouvement des droits des femmes
entre visions spécifiques et visions sociétales, in
O. Derras (comp.), Mouvements associatifs au
Maghreb, Oran 2002, 141–57.Lilia LabidiSudanSudan’s history regarding women’s rights and
human rights is a mixed one. Important advances
were made by indigenous activists in the post-inde-
pendence period after 1956; international pressure
on the issue of female genital mutilation (FGM) has
yielded some positive results; however, since 1989
Sudan has been cited by human rights groups as a
“human rights disaster” for its longstanding civil
war affecting its southern citizens, and also for its
treatment of women in the north.
The Sudanese constitution of 1973 provides for
equal rights of all citizens irrespective of gender,