Subject Area
Social justice
Description
This paper discusses the present characteristics of men and women’s expected roles in Tunisian society and family during and after marriage. The relationship between the Personal Status Code’s laws and Tunisian society’s general mentality were studied to see how they interacted to create men and women’s reputations and statuses before and after divorce. Four interviews were conducted with two categories of marriages considered: those with children and those without children. Each category was represented by a male and female divorcé living in the northern suburbs of Tunis, who were each asked to speak of their marriage and divorce process. Each divorcé was treated as a case study of their category. Three professionals working at Centre de Recherches, d'Etudes, de Documentation et d'Information sur la Femme (CREDIF), Femmes Democrates, and Association Des Femmes Tunisiennes Pour La Recherche Et Le Developpement (AFTURD) were consulted for their knowledge of statistics and Tunisian culture. It was found that the notion of the domestic sphere belonging to the wife is still strongly present today, and is reinforced by Tunisian family law. However, the Personal Status Code provides financial protections to women that are needed because of their high unemployment rate. The majority of female students enrolled in universities is seen as a potential source for change in the law and traditional gender spheres.
Publisher
Providence College
Date
Spring 2010
Type
Article
Format
Text
Language
English
Included in
Cultural History Commons, International Relations Commons, Other International and Area Studies Commons, Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons
