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Good practice

Côte d'Ivoire 2019 Family Code Reform — Equal Parental Authority, Inheritance and Minimum Marriage Age

Côte d'Ivoire · Abidjan · See the Côte d'Ivoire profile

Côte d'Ivoire's 2019 family law reform set the minimum marriage age at 18, granted equal parental authority, equalised marital property and protected widows' inheritance. By 2023, the OECD SIGI score fell from 42.8 to 17.3, placing Côte d'Ivoire top in Africa.

42.8
OECD SIGI score (lower is better) (2019)
17.3
OECD SIGI score (lower is better) (2023)
Côte d'Ivoire 2019 Family Code Reform — Equal Parental Authority, Inheritance and Minimum Marriage Age

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Government of Côte d'Ivoire (Council of Ministers)
Period
2019–present
Keywords
government, family law, gender equality, legal reform, property rights, marriage

Context

Cote d'Ivoire's 2019 family and inheritance law reforms, approved 27 March 2019, set the minimum marriage age at 18 for both sexes, granted mothers equal parental authority, equalised marital property rights, and protected widows' inheritance; a 2021 Penal Code reform added consent to the definition of rape and criminalised domestic violence.

Results

OECD's Social Institutions and Gender Index score for Cote d'Ivoire fell from 42.8 in 2019 to 17.3 in 2023 -- the largest improvement in sub-Saharan Africa, placing the country in the global top 55 for gender non-discrimination.

Conclusions

Protections do not automatically extend to customary and religious marriages common in rural areas, and enforcement of domestic violence provisions remains inconsistent; local feminist organisations have called for stronger penalties and better access to justice.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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