70 years later, Tunisian women's rights are put to the test

“We are neither in a situation favorable to women’s rights nor one that is hostile to them; it’s quite mixed,” says Dorra Mahfoudh, a sociologist and activist with the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, one of Tunisia’s oldest feminist organizations.During an international seminar held Aug. 12-13 under the slogan “Where do we stand on equality?” feminist activists gathered in Tunis to assess the state of women’s rights in the country. It is a difficult task, 70 years after the Personal Status Code was enacted on Aug. 13, 1956, following Tunisia’s independence, and amid political authoritarianism under President Kais Saied. Most associations now have little to no direct relationship or cooperation with the Ministry of Women, Family and Elderly.“We have neither official data nor a channel of communication with the authorities,” says...