Outcome Report >> Tunisia, Comment, 27th Session May 2017

Implementations

• National Report

  Para 125) The new Constitution recognizes the equality of all citizens of both sexes, and underscores the State’s obligation to protect, uphold and promote the acquired rights of women. The State, moreover, is to guarantee equal opportunities for men and women to access positions of responsibility in all areas, and is to strive to achieve gender parity in all elected assemblies. 126. Gender-based budgeting was endorsed in article 18 of the Organic Act on the budget and in the 2018 Local Government Code. Para 127) Several strategies to promote gender equality have been approved (see paras. 91 to 112 of CEDAW/C/TUN/7), notably a national plan for the institutionalization of gender in June 2018, which is intended as a response to Sustainable Development Goal 5 and which has been translated into plans that are currently being rolled out across all sectors. Para 128) The Tunisian gender equality programme, which is being funded by the European Union, has continued to be implemented at the national, regional and local levels. Furthermore, a national plan and sectoral plans have been developed with the support of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000). Para 129) A nationwide project to prevent school dropout, particularly among girls in rural areas, has continued to be implemented as part of a national strategy for the economic and social empowerment of women and girls in rural areas 2017–2020. Development complexes were established in 16 governorates during the first quarter of 2022, and 2 women’s centres were set up in Central West Tunisia with 30 female beneficiaries. Para 130) The strategy also includes several programmes aimed at women in rural areas, who have benefited from a number of measures (see paras.112 and 346–353 of CEDAW/C/TUN/7), including raising the allocation for the women’s entrepreneurship programme from 3 million to 10 million Tunisian dinars (D) in 2020 and a fivefold increase in the proportion of loans for women’s agricultural projects, from 6 per cent to 30 per cent. Para 131) The “Raida” programme was established to support women’s access to the labour market and to advance and promote entrepreneurship among women. The programme envisages a line of credit for women, created in partnership with the National Solidarity Bank. This has helped to launch about 2,300 projects for a total investment of around D 17 million. Para 132) As part of the programme, funding was made available in 2020 to 217 institutions, including 193 kindergartens, 18 nurseries and 6 children’s leisure and cultural institutions. Para 133) The new “Raidat” programme was launched on 8 March 2022. It diversifies credit lines to female entrepreneurs who actively support value chains, solidarity, development and innovation with an estimated financial allocation of D 50 million. The aim is to launch some 3,000 projects at the rate of 600 a year. Para 134) One of the features of the new programme is the elimination of self-financing, the granting of delays of between 3 and 5 years and an increase in the value of loans of between D 10,000 and D 300,000. As of June 2022, around 2,000 project applications had been submitted, 1,600 of them via the online platform created for that purpose. Para 135) The Constitution and legislation currently in force guarantee equal wages for men and women. Labour inspectors monitor economic enterprises in the private sector to ensure that they are not applying discriminatory practices. If the inspectors discover any violations, they are required to record their findings and submit them to the courts. Para 136) With regard to participation in public and political life, the first ever female Prime Minister of Tunisia was appointed in October 2021, and women account for 40 per cent of government members. In addition, for the first time, a woman has been appointed to head the General Secretariat of the Government. Para 137) Despite the fact that the principle of parity between men and women in electoral lists has been established, female representation following the legislative elections of 2019 was below the hoped-for ceiling, with just 53 women out of 217 representatives. Para 138) As for local-level representation, 3,385 women have been elected to serve on municipal councils, comprising 47.05 per cent of the total. A total of 573 women heading electoral lists were successfully elected in municipal elections, equivalent to 29.55 per cent of all heads of electoral lists. For the first time, a woman has become mayor of Tunis. At the regional level, just one woman is head of a governorate. Para 139) In 2018, 43.12 per cent of judges were women while, in 2020, they accounted for more than 70 per cent of the intake into the judiciary. Despite these percentages, the involvement of female judges in decision-making roles and in senior positions remains scant. Para 197. In this area, the following steps have been taken: … • A 2018 framework agreement to establish the “Protect me” system under which women working in the agricultural sector are able to benefit from social coverage. Para 205) The unemployment rate fell to 16.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2022, compared to 18.4 per cent during the third quarter of 2021. The rate stands at 20.9 per cent for women in 2022, compared to 24.1 per cent in 2021. Para 240) An integrated project to prevent school dropout, particularly among girls in rural areas, has been implemented since 2015. As of 2019, multidisciplinary areas for students to use between lessons had been opened in 8 governorates while, in a further 15 governorates in the interior of the country, livelihoods were being provided for mothers of children at risk of dropping out of school.

  National Report

  Link to Tunisia National Report

  UN Compilation

  Link to Tunisia UN Compilation

  UN Compilation

  Para 34) The United Nations country team commended Tunisia for the legislative measures taken to reduce unemployment and improve women’s working conditions and considered Act No. 2021-37 of 16 July 2021 on the regulation of domestic work to be a major step towards the establishment of decent work. While noting the adoption of a national action plan to promote women’s entrepreneurship and a plan on child labour, the United Nations country team acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic had led to an increase in unemployment and had weakened the tourism sector and made small and medium-sized enterprises more vulnerable. The United Nations country team found that the State had not committed sufficient resources to implement the legislative reforms adopted.