The process of politicization of gender issue in Tunisia and its impacts on the 2011 revolution

In the last half-century, Tunisia has witnessed a particular experience in the Arab world regarding the presence of gender issue in political relations and processes. Since its independence in 1956, the policy of gender equality was promoted as one of the foundations of the new system’s legitimacy and during the following years, it gradually turned in to a symbol of conflict between the semi-secular government and Islamist opposition. Out of these developments, the Tunisian feminist movement emerged and appeared as one of the outstanding trends in Tunisia political domain.
In addition to the political role during the dictatorship, the foresaid movement has participated in the evolutions resulted from the competition between seculars and Islamists in formation of the new system since 2011 revolution and has presented a model of women movement participation in political transition that, according to the patriarchal culture, can be an effective pattern in the Arab world. Strengthening democratic culture and facilitating the process of transition to democracy is one of the most important of those effects.