Good practice

Reforma del Código de Familia de Costa de Marfil (2019) — Igualdad en la Autoridad Parental, Herencia y Edad Mínima de Matrimonio

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

La reforma del derecho de familia de 2019 en Costa de Marfil fijó la edad mínima de matrimonio en 18 años, otorgó igualdad en la autoridad parental, igualó los derechos sobre bienes conyugales y protegió a las viudas en materia hereditaria. En 2023, el índice SIGI de la OCDE bajó de 42,8 a 17,3, situando al país a la cabeza en África.

42.8

Puntuación SIGI de la OCDE (cuanto más baja, mejor) (2019)

17.3

Puntuación SIGI de la OCDE (cuanto más baja, mejor) (2023)

Reforma del Código de Familia de Costa de Marfil (2019) — Igualdad en la Autoridad Parental, Herencia y Edad Mínima de Matrimonio

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

Las reformas del derecho de familia y sucesiones de Costa de Marfil de 2019, aprobadas el 27 de marzo de 2019, fijaron la edad mínima de matrimonio en 18 años para ambos sexos, otorgaron a las madres la misma autoridad parental, equipararon los derechos de propiedad matrimonial y protegieron la herencia de las viudas; una reforma del Código Penal de 2021 incorporó el consentimiento a la definición de violación y tipificó como delito la violencia doméstica.

Results

La puntuación del Social Institutions and Gender Index de la OCDE para Costa de Marfil descendió de 42.8 en 2019 a 17.3 en 2023, la mayor mejora registrada en el África subsahariana, situando al país entre los 55 primeros del mundo en no discriminación de género.

Conclusions

Las protecciones no se extienden automáticamente a los matrimonios consuetudinarios y religiosos habituales en las zonas rurales, y la aplicación de las disposiciones sobre violencia doméstica sigue siendo inconsistente; las organizaciones feministas locales han reclamado sanciones más severas y un mejor acceso a la justicia.

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.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-23
Government of Côte d'Ivoire (Council of Ministers) — accessed 2026-06-23
OECD SIGI 2023 — Côte d'Ivoire Country Profile — accessed 2026-06-23
HRW: Côte d'Ivoire Marriage Reform a Step for Women (2019) — accessed 2026-06-23
Library of Congress: Bill to Amend Marriage Law Approved — accessed 2026-06-23
Equality Now: Côte d'Ivoire Family Laws Report — accessed 2026-06-23

Attachments

Source image

Quality score: 85/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Observational / pre–post

Top 22% in this catalogue (719 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Transferability / replicability2/3

Legislative model cited as regional best practice by OECD and HRW; comparable reforms enacted in Mozambique (2019), but direct government-to-government replication not formally documented.

Impact on gender equality1/1

OECD SIGI score fell 25.5 points (42.8→17.3, 2019–2023), the largest improvement in sub-Saharan Africa, independently verified by OECD Development Centre.

Effectiveness1/1

All four reform objectives achieved in law (minimum marriage age 18, equal parental authority, equal marital property, widow inheritance); Penal Code 2021 added DV criminalisation, but rural-area enforcement acknowledged as inconsistent.

Efficiency0/1

No published cost-effectiveness data; legislative process costs not documented in accessible public sources.

Evaluated outcomes1/1

OECD SIGI 2023 Country Profile independently evaluated outcomes; HRW (2019) and Equality Now (2024) documented reform scope; Library of Congress verified enactment.

Sustainability1/1

Reform enshrined in statutory law since 2019 and strengthened by 2021 Penal Code amendment; backed by government as part of constitutional equality commitment.

Achievement / evidence1/1

Côte d'Ivoire ranked first in Africa on OECD SIGI 2023 (score 17.3), ahead of Rwanda, South Africa and Canada, with the reform wave as the primary driver.

Gender-mainstreaming embedding1/1

Reform simultaneously addressed marriage, parental authority, property and inheritance — applying gender equality principles structurally across the life course, not confined to a single domain.

Curator validation1/1

Multiple independent credible sources (OECD, HRW, Library of Congress, Global Voices, Equality Now) with consistent factual record.

Cite this

Evidoria. Reforma del Código de Familia de Costa de Marfil (2019) — Igualdad en la Autoridad Parental, Herencia y Edad Mínima de Matrimonio. Persistent ID: 441b7e9c-1e6e-45b4-bd81-62f851adb6d8.

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