Association des Femmes Tunisiennes pour la Recherche et le Développement

Tunisian nongovernmental organization for research and outreach on women's legal rights.

The idea of establishing a Tunisian women's research group, Association des Femmes Tunisiennes pour la Recherche et le Développement (Association of Tunisian Women for Research and Development; AFTURD), which was to be affiliated with the larger women's research network, Association des Femmes Africaines pour la Recherche et le Développement (Association of African Women for Research and Development; AFARD), began with discussions among members of the Club Tahar Haddad in 1986. AFTURD was formalized in 1989. Proactive on national, regional, and international levels, AFTURD has participated in networks of exchange among women in the Arab and African region, such as the Collectif Maghreb Egalité 95 activities in preparation for the fourth UN-sponsored Women's conference (Beijing 1995). In addition to networking, AFTURD scholars have produced an important body of qualitative and quantitative research on the status of Tunisian women, including the two-volume Tunisiennes en devenir (Tunisian Women on the Move). They have developed basic, accessible guides to women's legal rights and obligations (La marriage [Marriage] and Le divorce [Divorce]). Engaged also in activism to achieve effective emancipation for women, AFTURD participates in projects such as the Espace Tanassof, a women's shelter offering information, legal and psychological counseling, and training on specific themes concerning gendered approaches to social issues. AFTURD also sponsors forums on key women's issues such as inheritance, where ongoing research is presented and vigorously debated with an eye to developing culturally appropriate solutions to discrimination against women.

— LAURA RICE