Djibouti

According to the most recent available data from 2006, 5% of girls in Djibouti are married before the age of 18 and 1% are married before their 15th birthday.

Child marriage is slightly more prevalent in rural parts of Djibouti and in districts outside the capital.

Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that women and girls are somehow inferior to men and boys.

There is very limited information on child marriage in Djibouti, but available information indicates that it is exacerbated by:

Gender norms: Djiboutian law states that the role of the wife is to manage the household, while the husband is responsible for the family expenditure. In addition, a 2006 MICS study showed that 41% of married girls aged 15-19 had a husband who was 10 or more years older.

Djibouti has committed to eliminate child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Djibouti co-sponsored the 2013 Human Rights Council resolution on child, early and forced marriage and signed a joint statement at the 2014 Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.

Djibouti ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, which sets a minimum age of marriage of 18, and acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1998, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

In 1992 Djibouti ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, including Article 21 regarding the prohibition of child marriage.

In 2005 Djibouti ratified the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, including Article 6 which sets the minimum age for marriage as 18.

During its 2013 Universal Periodic Review, Djibouti supported recommendations to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to eliminate harmful practices, including child marriage. It also agreed to examine recommendations to increase awareness and provide training to eliminate child marriage.

During its 2018 Universal Periodic Review, Djibouti agreed to examine recommendations to strengthen the implementation of legislation, policies and awareness raising campaigns aimed at ending harmful traditional practices, in particular child, early and forced marriages.

Djibouti is a partner country of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).

In 2017, the Ministry for the Promotion of Women and Family Planning worked with women’s groups throughout Djibouti to protect the rights of girls, including the right to decide when and whom to marry, but it is unclear what this entailed.

In 2011, former government minister Hasna Barkat Daoud explained that child marriage prevention was being addressed through education.

According to the Family Code 2002, the minimum legal age of marriage is 18 years. However, marriage is possible under 18 years if it is authorised by a guardian or (if the guardian refuses) by a judge.