Habib Bourguiba Bourguiba met with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in Jerba. This one introduced him the idea of a union between Libya and Tunisia. At the end of the interview, the Tunisian minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Masmoudi stated: "The two countries will form a single republic, the Arab Islamic Republic, with a single constitution, one flag, one president, one army and the same executive, legislative and judicial. A referendum will be organized on January 18, 1974". At the airport, Bourguiba declared to journalists: However, due to opposition inside the country and abroad, Bourguiba was forced to abandon the project, claiming the
Habib Bourguiba was a Women's rights defender, Bourguiba based this law on his ideas, emancipating women, despite the then-conservative public opinion. Bourguiba understood the opposition he would face but decided to act, before even building the Republic. Nevertheless, he was supported by some religious personalities, such as Mohamed Fadhel Ben Achour, who defended Bourguiba's reform, stating that the CPS are possible interpretations of Islam. However, others did not share these views and said that the CPS was violating Islamic norms. The Personal Status Code would, then, constitute the fundamental legacy of Habib Bourguiba, to the point of becoming a sort of consensus