Representatives of civil society in Tunisia on Tuesday called on the interim president, Mohamed Ennaceur, to incorporate the principles of gender equality in inheritance, reported Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP).
They also called for respecting the constitution of Jan. 27, 2014 through the enforcement of public, individual, civil, political, economic and social rights and freedoms.
Former Tunisian President, Beij Caid Essebsi made equal inheritance rights for men and women his chief cause. Thousands demonstrated against his proposed law, saying equal inheritance rights are inconsistent with Islamic principles. The proposed law was approved by the cabinet but was never ratified by parliament.
The 2014 constitution enshrined equal rights for women but did not address the issue of inheritance.
According to Islamic law, a woman may only obtain half the inheritance men get.
Tunisian Minister of Women, Family, Children and the Elderly Affairs, Naziha Laabidi, in statements coinciding with Tunisia’s National Women’s Day, celebrated on August 13 since 1956, said that gender equality remains both a normal and necessary issue and must be real.
“The ministry is working on obtaining changes to certain laws in order to strengthen the independence of Tunisian women,” Laabidi said on the private radio station Shems FM.
