21 October 2009
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Tunis — First Lady Mrs. Leila Ben Ali, Chairwoman of the Arab Women Organisation, underlined that the November 7 Change has made of observance of women's rights and enrichment of their gains a significant feature of human rights and equal partnership between men and women in running family and social affairs the key of the future in order to achieve economic development, social progress and political modernisation.
In an interview given to the London-based "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat" daily, Mrs. Leila Ben Ali added that the November 7 Change has relied on women, their skills and their contribution to take up challenges and win current stakes. She emphasised that President Ben Ali has promoted women's status to that of active partners of men and promoted provisions of the Personal Status Code to the rank of constitutional principle as part and parcel of human rights and in conformity with the republican values.
The wife of the President of the Republic reviewed the major indicators that reflect the reinforcement of Tunisian women's participation in the development process and their presence in different production sectors and in public life.
She also pointed out that President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's new electoral programme has dedicated a special place to women, one that is essentially meant to raise women's presence in decision-making positions from 30% to at least 35% by 2014, as part of a comprehensive and complementary vision aimed, particularly, to further promote rural women's status.
Concerning Tunisian women's role in the presidential and legislative elections, Mrs. Leila Ben Ali underlined that the October 25 elections are for Tunisian women an opportunity to fulfil their political rights and discharge their civil duties by enhancing their presence within the elected bodies insofar as President Ben Ali has initiated and secured all propitious conditions for encouraging a broader participation of women in public life.
She also pointed out the rate of women's presence on the electoral lists of the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD), the majority and ruling party which is the trustee of the Change process, stands at no less than 30%.
With regard to Tunisia's chairmanship of the Arab Women Organisation, Mrs. Leila Ben Ali emphasised that she will endeavour during her term as chair of this Organisation to enhance mechanisms and instruments favouring the promotion of Arab women's status and to adopt new plans, programmes and approaches to narrow the divide separating men and women within Arab societies and open up wider prospects for women to actively participate in public life, on the basis of a strategy that takes into account priorities and meets the social and cultural characteristics of each Arab country.
She also highlighted Tunisia's will during her tenure as chairwoman of the Arab Women Organisation to boost Arab joint action in the legislative and political areas, to further enhance women's status by grounding its action in a forward-looking and modernist vision that heeds the specifics of the Arab-Islamic identity and be open onto Humanity's universal gains.
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