In March of this year, rallying around International Women's Day, Tunisian activists drafted a constitutional wish-list aimed at effecting gender equality on all levels of society. A month later, their demands, deemed far-fetched at the time, were taken up by the national electoral commission when it began drafting rules for the constituent assembly elections. To the joy of feminists worldwide, the commission adopted a gender-parity system for candidate lists, requiring political parties to alternate men and women on their lists from top to bottom. Any party that does not adhere to this rule can face immediate rejection by the commission.
History has proven, again and again, that a democracy's claim to legitimacy can face few stricter litmus tests than the manner in which it treats its women. Tunisia's decisive stance in favor of gender equality bodes well not only for its own revolution, but for the world at large - a world in which democracies are far scarcer than the testosterone-driven media would have us believe.
Tunisia's constituent assembly elections are slated to take place on October 23rd. I'm sure I'm joined by many in devoutly hoping that the gestures of the electoral commission will result in the women of Tunisia assuming a meaningful and transformative role in their nation's evolution.
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