Tunisia is widely considered to be the only real success story of the 2011 Arab Uprisings. The first nation to overthrow its repressive dictator, Tunisia has since embarked down a new path of societal progress and social development.
However, Tunisia's transition from an autocracy to the freest and most democratic nation in the Arab world was far from smooth. The nation has been rocked by a series of political assassinations, and dialogue on a proposed new constitution broke down at one point due to disagreements between political factions.
Nevertheless, with the post-uprising Arab world deteriorating into bloodshed around them, Tunisia's leaders were sagacious; negotiating their way to an eventual agreement. After two draft preambles, four full drafts and three long years, Tunisia's guiding document was eventually finalised in January of 2014.
What is remarkable about Tunisia's 2014 constitution, especially in comparison to other nations across the Arab world, is just how liberal and progressive it is. For example, in a region teeming with oppressive theocracies, Article 2 of Tunisia's constitution carefully compromises the role of religion in the political sphere; deliberately leaving the word 'Sharia' out, while implicitly recognising the Islamic heritage of the Tunisian people.
On the whole, this document is widely thought to be the bedrock of Tunisia's continued status as a paragon of freedom and equal rights in the region.
Specifically, it is Article 21 that has the greatest implications in terms of creating a truly fairer nation for all. This article states that 'All citizens, male and female, have equal rights and duties and are equal before the law without any discrimination'; and thus makes Tunisia's constitution pivotal in the broader fight for gender equality across the Arab world.
In saying this, more than four years on from the constitution's inception, progress is slow in the struggle for equal rights in Tunisia. While a ruling in 2017 did allow Muslim women to marry non-Muslim men, a law unfathomable in many dictatorial Arab theocracies, the fight for basic equality between the sexes is still ongoing.
"Although often referred to as the 'most liberated women of the Arab world', there is undeniably still a long road ahead for Tunisia's women if they want to achieve true gender equality in accordance with their own constitution."
This is because, although the intent of Article 21 is clear, it cannot be used to overturn current laws by itself. Indeed, the government still needs to alter existing legislation in the Tunisian