clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

Ennahda rejects Tunisia initiative to amend inheritance law

August 28, 2018 at 12:16 pm

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi speaks at a press conference in Tunis, Tunisia on 27 December 2017 [Yassine Gaidi/Anadolu Agency]

Tunisia’s Ennahda movement has rejected the initiative of President Beji Caid Essebsi regarding equality of inheritance between females and males, Anadolu has reported. The announcement came in the closing statement of the 21st session of Ennahda’s Shura Council held in Hammamet over the weekend.

“Ennahda rejects any project which is incompatible with the Constitution and the Qur’an,” said Council Chairman Abdul Karim Al-Harouni.

President Essebsi plans to submit a draft law to parliament covering equal inheritance between men and women. It is an initiative that has caused sharp divisions within Tunisian society. According to Al-Harouni, the movement views such a change as being incompatible with the Tunisian Constitution and the country’s Muslim identity.

“Tunisia is a civil Muslim state, which adheres to the instructions of the Constitution and Islamic provisions,” he explained. “It is likewise a civil state that expresses the will of the people.”

Read: Tunisia Ennahda condemns Essebsi criticism by official

Stressing that Ennahda will contribute to the defence of women’s rights in terms of inheritance, he insisted that such projects and laws must respect the identity of the country. “Ennahda will support diligence and initiatives aiming to improve the status of women and will contribute to the development of the provisions and adherence to the fixed terms of Islam.”

He reiterated his call to all political parties to “avoid sedition and any issue that provokes Tunisians’ anger and fears by targeting their Islamic identity, as stipulated by the constitution of 2014.”

The Shura Council’s statement also asserted that Ennahda’s vision is in line with that of the ruling liberal party, Nidaa Tounes.