ALGERIA ON GENDER EQUALITY

Globally, some progress on women’s rights has been achieved. In Algeria,

3.8% of women aged 20–24 years old who were married or in a union before
age 18. The adolescent birth rate is 12 per 1,000 women aged 15–19 as of
2017, up from 9.7 per 1,000 in 2015. As of February 2021, 26% of seats in
parliament were held by women. In 2013, 77.2% of women of reproductive
age (15-49 years) had their need for family planning satisfied with modern
methods.

However, work still needs to be done in Algeria to achieve gender equality.

Women and girls aged 10+ spend 20.8% of their time on unpaid care and
domestic work, compared to 3.8% spent by men.

As of december 2020, only 43.5% of indicators needed to monitor the SDGs

from a gender perspective were available, with gaps in key areas, in
particular: violence against women and key labour market indicators, such as
the gender pay gap. In addition, many areas – such as gender and poverty,
physical and sexual harassment, women’s access to assets (including land),
and gender and the environment – lack comparable methodologies for reguar
monitoring. Closing these gender data gaps is essential for achieving gender-
related SDG commitments in Algeria.
Gender data gaps and country performance

For this score, we use the 72 gender-specific SDG indicators in the Women
Count Data Hub’s SDG Dashboard for the 193 UN Member States. For each
indicator, we calculate the 33rd and 66th percentiles of the distribution and,
based on those two values, countries are classified as belonging to high
performance, medium performance and low performance categories. For more
details, see the methodological note and the article “We now have more
gender-related SDG data than ever, but is it enough?”

CEDAW

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against

Women, adopted by resolution 34/180 of the United Nations General Assembly on
18 December 1979, was ratified by Algeria on 22 January 1996 by Presidential
Decree No. 96-51. The Algerian Constitution of 1989 provides, in article 122, that
treaties relating to the status of persons shall be ratified by the President of the
Republic after they have been given express approval by the National People's
Assembly. The revised Constitution of 28 November 1996 retains this same
principle in article 131.

The provisions of this international instrument entered into force for Algeria on 19
June 1996 and have since that date been part of national legislation.

This initial report, presented pursuant to article 18 of the Convention, reviews

actions undertaken by the public authorities to give effect to the rights of women in
Algeria. The intent is to provide the Committee with an overview of the current
status of Algerian women and the practical measures that have been taken since the
Convention came into force. A number of ministerial departments and institutions
participated in its preparation.

Consistent with the Committee's guidelines, this report contains two parts. The first
covers the general context in which efforts to overcome discrimination against
women are being pursued in Algeria, while the second provides specific
information on each of the Convention's provisions.

In introducing the report, the representative of Algeria underlined that his country
had submitted its initial report only two years after its accession to the Convention,
despite the current difficult situation it was facing. That was an indication of the
sincere commitment of the Government to human rights and to the advancement of
women. 43. The representative noted that Algeria’ second Constitution of 1976,
proclaimed 13 years after independence, guaranteed for the first time equality
before the law. The Constitution of 1989, revised in 1996, reinforced principles of
universal human rights, such as freedom of speech and free elections. Article 123
also confirmed the primacy of all international treaties ratified by Algeria over
national law, a decision confirmed by the Constitutional Council on 20 August
1998. All civil, penal, administrative and commercial codes conformed to the
Constitution and the principles of equality between men and women. However,
despite the rapid progress with regard to de jure equality, de facto equality had not
been achieved because of stereotypical attitudes that existed in society. 44. A
number of measures had been taken by public authorities as part of the overall
policy on women, in particular after the Fourth World Conference on Women
(Beijing, 1995). A permanent committee had been established under the auspices
of the Ministry of National Solidarity and Family; and to strengthen the national
mechanisms for the advancement of women, a secretariat of State upgraded to a
Ministry and headed by a woman Minister acted as a focal point for the
advancement of women. The Council for the Preservation and Promotion of the
Family and the National Women’s Council were created in 1996 and 1997
respectively, to ensure the coherence of all policies for the advancement of women.
As part of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, Algeria had
adopted a national action plan and recently presented a report on the many actions
undertaken since the Fourth World Conference on Women. 45. The representative
recalled that Algerian women had already played an active role in the struggle for
independence, but stereotypical attitudes, exacerbated by illiteracy, were obstacles
to achievement of equality with men. A great number of political parties and
nongovernmental organizations had emerged since the introduction of a pluralist
democracy in 1984, but fundamentalist movements and terrorism threatened
advances made, particularly where women were concerned. 46. The representative
pointed out that education, which was free, had been decisive in women’s
emancipation, providing access to employment, medical and social services and
breaking down stereotypical attitudes and social obstacles. Certain sectors of
employment were now dominated by women, including the magistrature,
education and health. 2 47. The representative noted that domestic violence against
women was considered a severe crime by the Constitution and penal code. Many
non-governmental organizations also existed to assist battered women. Several
initiatives had been taken to care for victims of rape and abduction, including
centres to treat women and children traumatized by terrorist violence. 48. The
representative informed the Committee that progress had been achieved with
regard to equality in political and public life at the national level, although only a
few women had reached decision-making positions. Many women were active,
including in leadership positions, in political parties, unions and non-governmental
organizations. The reform of voting procedures in 1995, which limited voting by
proxy to exceptional situations, returned the right to vote to many women whose
guardian or husband had customarily voted on their behalf. 49. The economic
crisis affecting Algeria since 1986 had resulted in a decline in jobs and had had a
negative impact on the employment of women. Women’s participation in the
labour force was low and informal work at home was increasing. However, the
representative noted that under the current social security system women received
specific benefits related to maternity and retirement, including 14 weeks of
maternity leave at full pay. 50. Family planning services were an integral part of
the health programme and had expanded since 1974. Today 99 per cent of women
were aware of methods of family planning, and the fertility rate, in particular
among the younger age groups, had been significantly reduced. 51. In concluding
his presentation, the representative of Algeria emphasized that the ratification of
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
had to be viewed in the context of the political will to encourage the gradual
emancipation of women. Accession to the Convention had raised a debate in the
country and although accession was accompanied by reservations, it should be
seen as a step towards social and normative developments leading to withdrawal of
the reservations. In particular, as a result of the accession to the Convention, the
Family Code of 1984 was currently being revised and suggested amendments,
which could result in removal of reservations, had emerged, as a result both of
claims by women’s groups and of the evolution of Algerian society.

Women In Arab Nations

Good Afternoon chairs and fellow delegates

Algerian women achieved political victories by establishing a presence in official

state institutions—including parliament, the main legislative body in the country—
they experienced several unprecedented setbacks. In the seventh multi-party
parliament in the history of the country, women’s representation fell to 34 seats,
comprising only 8 percent of the total 407 seats. Women had previously held 145
seats in the 2012 parliament, and 120 seats in the 2017 parliament. Arab women hold
only 17 percent of seats in national parliaments—despite the fact that more than
half of the Arab states with representative councils have introduced women’s quota
systems. Women in the Arab region were not allowed to vote until the 1950s or
1960s when nationalist regimes embarked on modernization projects following
colonial rule . Women in the Arab world are subjected to discriminatory personal
status laws and harsh male guardianship systems. While such laws differ across the
region, overall they continue to obstruct gender equality by defining the status of
women in society in overly narrow and overwhelmingly patriarchal terms. In any
state of emergency, women’s rights are the first to be taken away and the last to be
restored. This has been much worse in the Arab region because of the widespread
patriarchy, chronic insecurity, backlash against fundamental women’s rights, and
most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. Gender-based violence has increased due
to the pandemic and women have suffered far greater losses in comparison to men
throughout the global health crisis.

NGO For Empowering Women In Arab Nations

Algeria: Joint programme for gender equality and the empowerment of women in
Algeria

The aim of the joint programme was to support Algeria's efforts for gender equality
and the empowerment of women, with a particular focus on improving access to
employment for women.

The joint programme consisted of three inter-related strategic interventions:

 It supported the establishment of a suitable environment for fair decision-

making, strengthening the capacity to gather sex-disaggregated data and
studies as well as integrating gender into sectoral programmes.
 The programme improved women’s access to employment by supporting
already existing job-creation mechanisms and by developing pilot projects.
 Public information on gender issues and women’s socio-economic rights
was promoted through partnerships with the media and Civil Society
organisations.

Main achievements were:

 Training sessions on database management were conducted to strengthen

the capacity of national institutions to produce gender-sensitive information.
 A gender audit and a feasibility study of Gender Responsive Budgeting
were conducted and finalized.
 A variety of initiatives were launched to support vulnerable rural women,
including vocational training, access to microcredit and the creation of
community centers for literacy and other educational activities. In the
municipalities of Djelfa and Tamanrasset, HIV-infected women were
provided with targeted support, training and microcredit facilities to help
them engage in income-generating activities.
 Training of trainers were held to support the creation and management of
micro-enterprises and the development of women's entrepreneurship.
 To sensitize the media to women's rights and gender equality, members of
national and local media were included in all programme activities, and
journalists from the national radio were trained on gender equality.
 90 NGO executives working on women’s human rights were trained across
the country to strengthen their capacity to network, advocate for women’s
rights and improve the image of women in society.
 The data quality and expertise on women’s status and the capacities to
mainstream gender issues in public policies were strengthened thanks to the
first National Survey of Time Use conducted in the spring of 2012, with
9000 households interviewed.

Solutions:

Algeria a country who protect women rights and always support equality for
women in all areas. Here are some of the solutions that the country think would
think do the needful:

1 Avoid Violence against women and girls in conflict and crisis

Gender inequality is particularly evident in places where violent conflicts,

military coups, displacement and hunger are prevalent. Whenever and
wherever a crisis hits, violence against women and girls increases.The global
COVID-19 crisis was just one example: In analysis by the IRC, 73% of women
living in some of the most forgotten crisis settings reported an increase in
domestic violence, 51% cited sexual violence, and 32% saw an uptick in child
and forced marriage since the start of the pandemic.

2 Increase funding to end violence against women and girls.

In 2018, less than 1% percent of humanitarian funding worldwide went toward

programmes to prevent and respond to gender-based violence. A study found
that between 2018 and 2021, funding needs for programmes to prevent and
respond to gender-based violence were not even met to one third.

3 Keep girls in school

When girls in crisis countries enter school, many do not finish due to early
marriage, teenage pregnancy, or the obligation to take on household chores.
 43% of girls in Nigeria, 37% in the DRC and 40% of girls in Ethiopia are
subject to child marriage.

4 Champion women’s economic empowerment

When women have economic opportunities, it can enhance their status in their
households and communities.

5 Give women cash

Similarly, when women are given cash in an emergency it increases the

freedom they have to make their own choices. The good news is that the use of
cash is increasing. The IRC provides cash to women so that they can buy the
goods and services they need.

6 Include women and girls in decision making

Women are often under-represented in leadership and planning around

humanitarian crises. This means women and girls remain marginalised in crisis
response plans and recovery efforts.

7 Engage men in the fight to end violence against women and girls

Change is not going to happen without engaging men to challenge gender

inequality that is deeply rooted in societal attitudes, beliefs and behaviours,
including stigma towards survivors of gender-based violence.By engaging men in
examining destructive notions of masculinity, gender and power, behaviour can
change, as more and more male allies actively practise and promote gender
equality in their daily lives. Male engagement in gender equality should always be
guided by and accountable to the affected women and girls.

8 Support campaigns

Support campaigns like the United Nations Unite Campaign to support refugee
women and girls around the world.

Challenges faced by women in backward areas during conflicts:

During conflicts womens are always being opppresed and suppresed. But not in
Algeria.
Algeria had ratified two conventions on the rights of migrant workers and of
persons with disabilities, and the removal of the reservation on the article on
nationality of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
had further strengthened the commitment to women’s issues. The National Council
for Family and Women of 2007 had brought together different ministries,
organizations, associations and experts to promote family and women’s issues.
Political participation of women would expand with the application of Article 31
bis of the Constitution of 2008 and the law on representation of women in the
elected bodies.

. Equal access to health care was strengthened by the introduction of free health
care, improvement in reproductive health care and a substantive reduction in
maternal mortality and morbidity.

There was an improvement in coverage for mothers and children and in neonatal
care, as well as in combating malaria and HIV/AIDS.

Promoting the employment of women was a priority for the Government.

Social security provided equal coverage for women including special protection for
motherhood and pensions.

Women with disabilities enjoyed special social security coverage and training for
socio-economic integration.

Algeria did its utmost to combat all forms of violence against women, including
domestic violence which was sanctioned by the law.

Priorities in this field included research on the phenomenon, awareness raising,

and support for victims such as through the opening of specialized centres for
psychological, legal and social support on national and local levels.

The place of women in the Algerian society would be further reinforced through
the ongoing reform which would consolidate democracy and promote economic
growth.
group of women currently suffering from poverty and social marginalization is
made up of the hundreds of female survivors of abductions and rapes carried out
by various fundamentalist armed groups from 1992 to 1999. Many families have
rejected these women and refused to accept them back into their homes – a woman
who has been sexually assaulted is often considered a dishonor to the family – and
a majority of these women now live on the streets. The government has provided
some assistance to these women, but state personnel are not fully trained or
prepared to handle such cases. Women survivors of rape at the hands of armed
groups are excluded from economic state benefits, which are available to victims
of other armed group abuses who have suffered physical injury or material loss. It
took several years after the first cases of mass rapes for psychologists and
physicians to provide effective assistance to the victims of these crimes, but the
state's ability to provide psychological or economic support remains limited, and
the needs of these destitute women remain critical.

Female Gential Mutilation

The practice of FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the human

rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes and
constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against girls and women. It is nearly
always carried out by traditional practitioners on minors and is a violation of the
rights of children. The practice also violates a person's rights to health, security and
physical integrity; the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment; and the right to life, in instances when the procedure results in death.
WHO strongly urges health care providers not to perform FGM and has developed
a global strategy and specific materials to support health care providers against
medicalization. Female genital mutilation is reportedly not practised in Algeria.

Laws:

Provisions on assault and psychological or economic violence do not apply to an

individual in intimate non-marital relationships or to family members or members
of the same household.
In Article 264, there is a penalty of one to five years in prison and a fine for violent
acts that lead to illness or an incapacity to work for more than 15 days.

The Center for Information and Documentation on the Rights of Children and
Women (CIDDEF), "There is indeed a law now on domestic violence.

The penal code recognizes "crime of passion," and Article 279 provides that a
person who kills or injures their spouse benefits from mitigating circumstances if
their spouse was caught in the act of adultery.

women can divorce their husbands.

Investment in health care by algeria

Even in the context of the current financial crisis, Algeria has maintained a good
level of investment in the health sector,” said the independent expert charged by
the UN Human Rights Council to monitor the implementation of the right to
health, at the end of his first official visit* to the country. The health sector in
Algeria has been developed with a focus on guaranteeing free access to health care.
issues such as violence and mental health, and the situation of certain sectors of the
population, including women, adolescents and youth, people living with
HIV/AIDS, drugs users, migrants and refugees, and people with disabilities are
adressed by the country and the protections are being made. programmes to fight
HIV/AIDS and ensure access to treatment for key populations, including men who
have sex with men, sex workers, people who use drugs, and migrants. egislation
deal with mental disorders, their implementation remains unsatisfactory and does
not meet the real needs of healthcare providers. Algeria does not have protection
orders or systems, which leaves women exposed to violence and threats
ofretaliation when they seek help. Algerian law focuses almost exclusively on the
criminalisation of genderbased violence. the mostcomprehensive legal support for
women victims of violence is provided by the Wassila/AVIFE NGO networkof
lawyers. However, much work remains to be done to better adapt the judicial
system and the policeresponse to crimes in which VAW is involved. There is also a
lack of data available on violence against womenand the accessible figures are
mainly from police services. Because many women do not even denounce
theviolence they face, this data is relatively underreported.In addition to legal and
immediate to long-term psychological support, survivors of sexual violence need to
be able to access emergency contraception in order to prevent pregnancy as a result
of rape, as well as sexual abuse. appropriate health care services and information
on potential sexually-transmitted diseases. However, the reality for survivors of
sexual violence.

GSL

Good Afternoon to Honorable Chairs and fellow delegates.

The delegation of Algeria would like to take this opportunity to address the United
Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) on behalf of our country.
We are committed to promoting gender equality and women's empowerment both
within our borders and globally.

Algeria recognizes the significance of the UNCSW as a crucial platform for

discussing and finding solutions to the challenges hindering women's progress.
We firmly believe that empowering women is not only a matter of human
rights but also an essential foundation for sustainable development, social
cohesion, and economic growth.In recent years, Algeria has made significant
strides in promoting gender equality and women's empowerment. Our
government has implemented various policies and initiatives that aim to
enhance the status of women in all spheres of life. Our country has successfully
ratified The Convention on the Elimination on all types of discrimination
against women, Increase funding to end violence against women and girls.The
next awarness is for the opportunity given to women of Education. When girls
in crisis countries enter school, many do not finish due to early marriage,
teenage pregnancy, or the obligation to take on household chores. In
conclusion, the delegation of Algeria is committed to furthering the cause of
gender equality and women's empowerment. Together, we can build a future
where women and girls enjoy equal opportunities, are free from discrimination,
and fully participate in the digital age.

Thank you.

LETS DO IT ……
Cultural Practices

Cultural Practices are now became another physcological and physical problems.
There has been many cultural practices behind which womens have always being
oppressed. There is now misintrepetation of the cultural practices in the name of
female genital mutilation, child marriage, marriage by abduction and virginity
testing. There is no cultural practices as such in Algeria. But Arab nationhas being
following these traditions with their own interpretations.

1 Patriarchal traditions colored the early and dominant interpretations of the

Qur’an

The foundations of Islamic Law are based on the Qur’an. In addition, the Sunnah
is used as a secondary source for further clarification and guidance. While Muslims
are free to choose the interpretations most convincing to them, it is inevitable that
these individual ijtihads are influenced by the patriarchal customs and beliefs of
their surroundings.

Alternative non-patriarchal interpretations of the Qur’an do exist

As many Islamic scholars point out, the Qur’an clearly instates the principle of
equality among all humans. In the Qur’an created humans from male and female,
and despite the empirical differences among humans (based on race, gender, etc.),
the Qur’an regards them as equals and only ranks humans based on their moral
choices and piety. God created men and women from the same soul, as guardians
of each other in a relationship of cooperation not domination. While family law
and personal status codes in Arab and Muslim countries restrict women’s rights
and freedoms (e.g., in choosing a husband, guardianship/ wali, obeying the
husband/ ta’ah, initiating divorce, dowry requirement, polygamy, marriage to non-
Muslims, etc.), alternative interpretations of the Qur’an dispute these claims of
male domination based on religious texts

Context matters

The mainstream interpretations of Qur’anic text that consider men superior to

women are therefore not objective but subjective human interpretations heavily
influenced by historic and geopolitical conditions.
Liberation must come from within the Islamic domain

Muslims women tend to be religious, and would not react well to a western
feminist perspective that is imposed upon them, therefore secular approaches to
women’s rights are not likely to ‘liberate’ Muslim women because people of faith
will continue to want to follow their perception of the Divine Will. In addition,
many scholars argue that there is no universal model of gender quality (‘one size
fits all’), and the West should not keep a monopoly on the topographies of
modernity and truth.

Right and Laws:

 To sensitize the media to women's rights and gender equality, members of

national and local media were included in all programme activities, and
journalists from the national radio were trained on gender equality.
 90 NGO executives working on women’s human rights were trained across
the country to strengthen their capacity to network, advocate for women’s
rights and improve the image of women in society.
 The data quality and expertise on women’s status and the capacities to
mainstream gender issues in public policies were strengthened thanks to the
first National Survey of Time Use conducted in the spring of 2012, with
9000 households interviewed.
 Provisions on assault and psychological or economic violence do not apply
to an individual in intimate non-marital relationships or to family members
or members of the same household.
 In Article 264, there is a penalty of one to five years in prison and a fine for
violent acts that lead to illness or an incapacity to work for more than 15
days.
 The Center for Information and Documentation on the Rights of Children
and Women (CIDDEF), "There is indeed a law now on domestic violence.
 The penal code recognizes "crime of passion," and Article 279 provides that
a person who kills or injures their spouse benefits from mitigating
circumstances if their spouse was caught in the act of adultery.
 women can divorce their husbands.
 The health sector in Algeria has been developed with a focus on
guaranteeing free access to health care. issues such as violence and mental
 health, and the situation of certain sectors of the population, including
women, adolescents and youth, people living with HIV/AIDS, drugs users,
migrants and refugees, and people with disabilities are adressed by the
country and the protections are being made. programmes to fight HIV/AIDS
and ensure access to treatment for key populations, including men who have
sex with men, sex workers, people who use drugs, and migrants. egislation
deal with mental disorders, their implementation remains unsatisfactory and
does not meet the real needs of healthcare providers.
 Algerian law focuses almost exclusively on the criminalisation of
genderbased violence. the mostcomprehensive legal support for women
victims of violence is provided by the Wassila/AVIFE NGO networkof
lawyers.
 CAR : Change and remove.