Tunis: 20 percent of local councils' seats are for women

Tunisian President Zein El-Abidin Bin Ali decided to specify 20% of the local council seats for Tunisian women in the elections that will be held in middle of next year, which means guaranteeing nearly 1,000 seats for Tunisian females on these councils.

Thus, the seats specified for the Tunisian women will increase from 16.5% to 20%.

This republican decision in Tunis' celebration with the 100 anniversary of the birth of El-Taher Maddad, one of the social reformers in Tunis in the first third of this century and one of the most prominent heralds for the liberation of Tunisian women, which has been greatly achieved by President Zein El-Abidin Ben Ali, who formed an independent ministry for women and childhood as well as ensuring Tunisian women's right to grant their citizenship to their children.

He also chose four women in the current ministerial formation as they form 21% of members of the central committee of the ruling Constitutional Assembly Party, which is the highest authority in the party.