B. Tunisia

Unlike Saudi Arabia, Tunisia has been influenced by external sources. French civil law has had a substantial influence on the legal system in Tunisia and the court system introduced by French colonials was a major international influence.^[974] The dominant school of law in Tunisia has been the Malikis, while the Hanafi school is also followed.^[975] In January 1861, Muhammed Es Sadiq promulgated a Constitution^[976] which specified the contours of a nationwide bureaucracy limiting the powers of the head of state.^[977]

Habib Bourguiba led Tunisia to independence from the colonial powers, which resulted in a series of laws that recognised equal social responsibility between men and women.^[978] Upon this gaining of inde­pendence in 1956, the Constitution was enacted.^[979] Following independ­ence, Islam was declared as the state religion and was deemed to be compatible with the guarantee of equal rights and duties for all.

The law of Tunisia, however, is not and has not always been perfect in the arena of women’s rights. The Code of Personal Status falls short in the area of inheritance law, as women receive only half that of men.^[981] Furthermore, there is a history of dar jawad (house of discipline), where disobedient women would be restricted physically.^[982] There was no equivalent for disobedient husbands.^[983]

Tunisian leaders derived their political discipline not from the military but from the socialist workers’ movement, which could accommodate women’s interests more easily than a political movement controlled by the male-dominated military.^[984]

III.