A Tunisian woman in Tunis on April 23, 2020. - Hassene Dridi / AP / SIPA

The Tunisian government announced on Sunday that it will reformulate a decree on the gradual lifting of confinement after an outcry over a measure that enjoined "mothers of children under the age of 15" to stay at home. The very strict containment put in place on March 22 will begin to be lifted Monday, with a resumption of activity to 50% of the workforce in many non-essential sectors.

In a decree published on the night of Saturday to Sunday in the Official Journal (OJ), the government provides that some people continue to remain confined, including "retirees over 65 years", people with chronic diseases as well as women pregnant and "mothers whose children do not exceed 15 years of age" - the measure for the children themselves is not specified.

A measure deemed macho

This decree sparked an outcry, with many Internet users denouncing a "patriarchal" text. "This outrageous exception reflects the chauvinistic and patriarchal vision of gender roles and social attributes that make women responsible for children," deplored many associations for the defense of women's rights in a joint statement, recalling that the equality was enshrined in the Tunisian Constitution adopted in 2014 after the Arab Spring.

"Beyond the rights of women, the government should know that there are fathers who want to take care of their children and others who should," said Bochra Bel Haj Hmida, former MP and ex- President of the Commission for Individual Freedoms and Equality.

Sunday, the presidency of the government finally published a press release on social networks, citing a "mistake in the final drafting of the text". This will be amended and a new version published in the OJ. Women officially represent around 30% of the working population in Tunisia, according to the National Institute of Statistics, a figure undervalued according to some associations.

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  • gender equality
  • Deconfinement
  • Confinement
  • Tunisia
  • Tunis
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