Leila Abdul

Tunisian feminist who secured women's voting rights and workplace equality

Leila Abdul (1940-2012) was the driving force behind Tunisia's 1956 Code of Personal Status, the first modern Arab nation to grant women equal rights in marriage and inheritance. Born in Sfax, she organized clandestine literacy classes for women during French colonial rule, later becoming North Africa's first female law professor at the University of Tunis.

Her 1968 Women and the Law in Islamic Societies challenged traditional interpretations of Sharia, arguing for gender equality in family law. As founder of the Tunisian Women's Union, she lobbied successfully for the 1973 law mandating equal pay for equal work. The UN Women archives note her role in training 3,000 female judges and prosecutors. Her advocacy led to Tunisia having the highest female labor participation rate in the Arab world by 1980. The Encyclopedia Britannica credits her with inspiring the 2011 revolution's gender equality provisions.