Grassroots will drive North Africa women’s rights push

Significance

The past year has seen women’s rights movements come to the fore across the Maghreb, a region where previous initiatives have been driven by Western political pressure and from the top down by predominantly authoritarian leaders.

Impacts

• Grassroots movements will be more likely to succeed in gaining society’s buy-in than elite attempts to impose values.
• Wider issues in Algeria preclude women’s issues taking centre stage, but the new president may use them to legitimise his position.
• Tunisian President Kais Saied, a conservative, is unlikely to introduce progressive measures but will face pressure to act on existing ones.