TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) _ Tunisia celebrated its national women's day Sunday by marking the 50th anniversary of laws that revolutionized how the predominantly Muslim country treats women.
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Some women's rights organizations said the legislation _ the brainchild of forward-looking late President Habib Bourguiba _ urged leaders to undertake even more reforms.
``Enormous things have been achieved, but it would be unrealistic to consider the work completed,'' said Sana Ben Achour, a law professor at the University of Tunis.
Among the first measures adopted following Tunisia's independence from colonial master France in 1956, the Code banned polygamy.
It also abolished a husband's sole right to divorce. Now either spouse can file for divorce in the North African nation.
While applauding the Code, women's rights groups have urged the country to revamp its inheritance laws. Based on Muslim law, the existing statutes still favor male heirs by stipulating they receive twice as much inheritance as female heirs.
The 1956 Code ``is not written in stone, and the legislature is still trying to make it evolve through small steps,'' said Tunisian lawyer Ridha Khemani. ``We need to orient ourselves toward the future and not slip backward.''
While Tunisia often wins praise for the West for its treatment of women, human rights groups criticize the government for a closed-door political system that bars dissenters, a tightly controlled press and other restrictions on civil liberties.
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