Sharia Law and Gender Equality in Tunisia - Assignment Example

Sharia Law and Gender Equality in Tunisia Sharia Law and Gender Equality in Tunisia Introduction The Arab countries have experiencedcertain revolutions that focus on reforming the society to promote equality for all the sexes. Women in the countries have demanded for reforms, which show their quest for anxiety. Similarly, Tunisian government has also implemented various laws that promote women’s rights. It provides alternative interpretation concerning the Sharia law, which encourages gender equality. The government restricted women to wear the hijab prior to the revolution that occurred in 2011. The country’s population is about 98 percent Muslim, which shows that it values Islamic beliefs and practices. Surprisingly, Habib Bourguiba and Ben Ali eradicated certain traditions such as use of hijab among the women. Habib Bourguiba ratified a law that allowed Tunisian women to wear the hijab in the state offices. He also banned educational establishments in 1985, which further denied women certain rights. Similarly, Ali’ government also strengthened the legislation of his predecessor. He implemented stringent measures that could not allow females to obtain admission in the universities and schools with their hijabs. The intention was to discourage them from using the attires, and in many cases, they could remove them while on the streets or workplaces. However, the new government led by Enhada party allows them to wear their hijabs in different settings, which shows that they the country upholds Sharia law. It is a social requirement to put on the attires, and their men harass them when they put on skirts. This indicates that women do not enjoy their rights fully because they not choose their clothing willingly. Tunisian government makes significant efforts to educate girls, thus contributing to the high number of literacy among the females in the country. Statistics indicate that the number of girls to boys who enrolled for primary education was high with 2.2% (Dahlerup, Danielsson, & Johansson, 2012). More women than men also pursue higher education, which indicates that the government is promoting education to all students. In 2010, women were 63% of the total number of graduates. Social behaviors and legislation constrain women’s participation in the workforce. Their family members prohibit them from travelling far from home, which hinders them significantly from participating in the jobs that requires travelling. They do not have an option to travel alone because it socially unaccepted. The majority of jobs require commuting, which suggests that majority of females cannot work in such occupations. Tunisian laws also contribute significantly towards the low number of women in the workforce. They restrict their participation to certain employment opportunities (Mashhour, 2005). The majority of them work in the agricultural sector, which fall under domestic chores. They can effectively in the farms because they do not have to travel for long distances. The laws also limit them to the number of hours they should work, and require their fathers and husbands to prove the number of hours they work. The gender inequality in the country discourages many women from seeking employment opportunities because they do not enjoy the freedom of choice and movement. Tunisian women also receive few days for maternity leave, usually 30 days hence indicating the use of Sharia law in the country. The law also state salary parity and equality between women and men in the public sector and civil service. The males obtain higher salaries as compared to their female counterparts in the private sectors. It discourages many women from working because they usually perform similar duties. Gender roles in the family also affect women’s participation on the labor force (Dahlerup, Danielsson, & Johansson, 2012). The society requires women to perform domestic duties and take care of their children. These beliefs hinder women from participating in other duties because they spend much of their time at home. They perform a greater workload as compared to men, which it difficult for them to balance effectively. To elucidate elusively on the relationship between Islamic law and gender equality, this lesson requires students to consider various ways in which women in the country experience discriminatory practices. This unit will take two weeks and discussion prompt and a quiz will be used during the first and second week respectively. Learning objectives Students should have a clear view of Sharia law by reading relevant academic materials Students should identify gender roles of Tunisian women Students should relate gender equality in the country to Sharia law Students should read relevant materials to enable them understand the effects of gender equality on the women Each student should come up with strategies that can help address gender stereotypes in the society A bibliographic list of assigned readings and video Mashhour, A. (2005). Islamic law and gender equality: Could there be a common ground?: A study of divorce and polygamy in Sharia Law and contemporary legislation in Tunisia and Egypt. Human Rights Quarterly, 27(2), 562-596. The source provides information concerning how Sharia law addresses the polygamy issue. It will help the students achieve the learning objectives by enhancing their understanding concerning the law and gender equality in the country. Charrad, M. M. (2007). Tunisia at the forefront of the Arab world: Two waves of gender legislation. Wash. & Lee L. Rev., 64, 1513. It contains relevant information to the topic, which will enable the students to understand legislation in Tunisia and how they address gender equality. International Finance Corporation. (Director). (2012). Supporting Gender Equality Through Microfinance in Tunisia [Motion Picture]. . This video shows how the government can address the issue of gender equality. It enables the students achieve learning objective that focuses on promoting gender equality. Assignment for the Class Discussion Prompt In the introductory part of the unit, you acquired basic information concerning gender inequality in Tunisia. You also watched the movie and read substantial literature that addresses the issues. In this week, I would like you to discuss gender roles of Tunisian women in regard to the Sharia law. Use credible academic sources to help you support your argument. Sample Reply Tunisia provides a good example of Islamic state that promotes equality gender to ensure that women can enjoy their rights. The nation explored fundamental reforms in its constitution and laws. The government prohibits polygamy in the country because it violates the rights of many women. The society believes that one person cannot treat multiple wives equally, which will make some of them to suffer significantly. The law promotes education for all genders in the country, thus increasing literacy level (Dahlerup, Danielsson, & Johansson, 2012). A nation will high literacy can easily develop because it produces innovative minds. In Tunisia, all the genders have equal opportunities to education at different levels. The number of female students, who pursue university courses is significant, which confirms that the government values education for all genders. Tunisia still faces many challenges in relation to gender equality, despite the significant reforms. It encourages education for all genders, but restricts the employment opportunities for the females. The government provides a legislation that prohibits the women from travelling far from their homes without a male counterpart. It contributes to impossibility for most of them to participate in jobs, especially the ones that require commuting. Most of the jobs require people to travel long distances, thus hindering women’s opportunity to participate in them. Therefore, majority of the women remain at home even though it is against their women. Sharia law also limits movement in the country because they cannot travel on their own, which indicates its association with gender equality in Tunisia. The society defines gender roles whereby women should take care of the homestead and the children (Dahlerup, Danielsson, & Johansson, 2012). These societal values hinder their participation in the labor force significantly because they remain at homes. They do not have the opportunity to work in the public and private sectors because they cannot balance it with the domestic chores effectively. The majority of Islamic countries require women to perform domestic duties, thus indicating the use of Sharia law in Tunisia. Tunisian women also experience many challenges in relation to ownership. The law guarantees Tunisian women the right to own a property such as land. However, they hardly enjoy the rights because of the traditional Islamic traditional laws that allow the father to transfer ownership of a property to the son still exist (Dahlerup, Danielsson, & Johansson, 2012). Therefore, fewer women than men inherit property in the country. It is a clear indication of inequality in the country, which shows that the country relies on Sharia law. The government also fails to promote equality in the way it allocates salary to the genders. The law discriminate females because they do not obtain similar salaries as their male counterparts even if they are in the same career. They perform similar duties, but the employers do not increase their salaries. Tunisian laws confine women to certain jobs, which reduce their numbers in the high paying professions. The majority of them participate in the agricultural sector where they can work comfortable without traveling away from home. The society believes that the restriction will enable them to stay at home in order to provide care to their children. In addition, the government limits working hours of women, thus limiting their ability to participate effectively in the workforce. It shows that Tunisian laws concerning gender equality are similar to the Sharia law, which also limits women’s participation the labor force. Week 2: Quiz Throughout week one, you learned about Sharia law and gender equality in Tunisia. The country carries out various reforms to promote the rights of women. However, they still experience many challenges because the government fails to consider them in important areas. Provided answer relevant for questions outlined below. Use relevant academic sources to support your answers. Question 1 What is the impact gender inequality on women? Responses Gender inequality affects women in different ways, including economically, socially, and psychologically. The laws that restrict women’s participation in the labor force contribute economic challenges on them. They cannot work to raise their own income, which makes them to depend heavily on their partners. Their husbands must support them in many ways because they do not have the opportunity to work. It increases dependency ratio in the country, thus affecting economic growth and development. In some cases, their dependence on their partners may lead to domestic violence because the other party can control their behaviors due to personal interests (Sokoloff & Dupont, 2005). The act may be violent that could affect women’s health significantly, which confirms the damaging effects of gender inequality (Fargues, 2005). They are also likely to develop psychological problems because of the stress they experience. Women also find it difficult to socialize in public and private spheres, which hinder them from accessing valuable information. Question 2 Suggest strategies that could help promote gender equality Responses The government should implement laws that target specifically discrimination of women. It is essential to comprehend the damaging effects of gender inequality to the women and the society. It hinders them equal employment opportunities that leads to high dependency ration, thus affecting the country’s economy. The information will encourage the government to enact and enforce the laws. It is also important to educate the public the need to respect and recognize all genders. References Charrad, M. M. (2007). Tunisia at the forefront of the Arab world: Two waves of gender legislation. Wash. & Lee L. Rev., 64, 1513-1527. Dahlerup, D., Danielsson, E., & Johansson, E. (2012). Gender equality policy in Tunisia . Retrieved May 14, 2015, from http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/note/join/2012/462502/IPOL-FEMM_NT%282012%29462502_EN.pdf Fargues, P. (2005). Women in Arab countries: challenging the patriarchal system?. Reproductive Health Matters, 13(25), 43-48. International Finance Corporation. (Director). (2012). Supporting Gender Equality Through Microfinance in Tunisia [Motion Picture]. Mashhour, A. (2005). Islamic law and gender equality: Could there be a common ground?: A study of divorce and polygamy in Sharia Law and contemporary legislation in Tunisia and Egypt. Human Rights Quarterly, 27(2), 562-596. Mir‐Hosseini, Z. (2006). Muslim women’s quest for equality: Between Islamic law and feminism. Critical inquiry, 32(4), 629-645. Omair, K. (2008). Women in management in the Arab context. Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, 1(2), 107-123. Sokoloff, N. J., & Dupont, I. (2005). Domestic violence at the intersections of race, class, and gender challenges and contributions to understanding violence against marginalized women in diverse communities. Violence against women, 11(1), 38-64. Sylvia, R. (Director). (2015). Gender "Equality" [Motion Picture]. Read More