November 6, 2022

THIS WEEK IN HUMAN RIGHTS NEWS

Tunisia’s gender parity law revoked ahead of December election

Sources: Human Rights Watch, Al Jazeera (1, 2, 3) 

In Tunisia, a new law passed on September 15 under President Kais Saied eliminated gender parity from previous electoral laws. 

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the gender parity law was enshrined in the Constitution in 2014 and ‘required candidate lists to alternate their members between men and women’. As a result, 68 female parliamentarians were elected in 2014, demonstrating progress for women’s rights following the 2011 Jasmine Revolution. 

A 2017 amendment required that half of the candidate lists in local elections were led by women. After the 2018 elections, 47% of city councils were made up of women.

HRW reported that the new electoral law enacts two changes for candidates: 400 signatures from registered voters and private funding. 

“These requirements especially disempower women who are less likely to have the same powerful local networks to sponsor their candidacy as men and the same financial means as their male counterparts,” Salsabil Chellali, Tunisia director at HRW, told Al Jazeera, “Together this is likely to contribute to their political exclusion.”

In October, thousands protested in the capital of Tunis against President Kais Saied’s ‘moves to consolidate political power’. 

The new law was enacted ahead of parliamentary elections, which will take place in December.