By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
A Tunisian woman minister has asked men to share housework with their wives to help their wives' social success.
Sarra Kanoun Jarraya, minister of Tunisia's Ministry of Women, Family, Children and Elderly Affairs, said female's social success and status upgrading largely depend on how much their spouses are willing to share the housework and encourage their wives to show their talent in various fields.
``Having equal responsibility, rights and duties with men at home and in society is key to the ultimate success for women,'' the minister said in an interview with The Korea Times, Thursday.
She visited Seoul to attend the World Women's Forum 2007, which ended at the Sheraton Walkerhill Hotel, Friday, at the invitation of the minister of gender equality and family.
The minister pointed out that education was the most important means to help women enhance their social status.
``Women should be educated, healthy and try to improve their personal competency,'' she said. ``Men should also break the norm that household chores and childcare should only be done by women. Sharing housework with spouses brings more opportunities for females to work outside and eventually increases chances for women's status in society.''
Under the influence of European culture over the last century, Tunisia has a relatively gender-equalized society, compared to other Islamic countries.
In 1956, the Tunisian government enacted a law banning bigamy, which is still prevalent in some Islamic countries. It also legalized that men can only divorce after going through the proper legal procedures. Previously, Tunisian males could divorce without the consent of their wives.
The Tunisian government has constructed various facilities across the country for working women such as childcare centers.
Incumbent President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali launched a state-backed funding program in 1993 with the aim of financially supporting the underprivileged as well as building up the country's infrastructure.
The efforts to build a gender-equalized nation the Tunisian government has pursued were successful. Currently, six women are on the Cabinet and women account for 22 percent of seats in parliament.
The minister obtained a doctorate degree in medical science from the University of Tunis.
In 2004, she was appointed secretary of state and became a minister this year.
She also participated in the writing of the National Report in 1993 on the elimination of discrimination against women, titled the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).