Tunisia

2 of girls in Tunisia marry before age 18.

Child marriage is slightly more prevalent in rural parts of the country.

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

There is limited information on child marriage in Tunisia.

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

During its Voluntary National Review at the 2019 and 2021 High Level Political Forum, the government of Tunisia did not provide an update on progress towards this target, but reported the amendment of Article 227 of the Tunisian Penal Code on July 2017, ending a loophole that allowed a sex offender to avoid facing legal action by marrying his victim. The amended Article 227 now sets a five year prison sentence for those who commit this crime. The government has not submitted a Voluntary National Review in any High Level Political Forum since 2021.

Tunisia co-sponsored the following Human Rights Council resolutions: the 2013 procedural resolution on child, early and forced marriage, the 2015 resolution to end child, early and forced marriage, recognising that it is a violation of human rights, the 2017 resolution on recognising the need to address child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian contexts, the 2019 resolution on the consequences of child marriage, and the 2021 resolution on child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis, including the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2014, Tunisia also signed a joint statement at the Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.

Tunisia co-sponsored the 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022 UN General Assembly resolutions on child, early and forced marriage.

Tunisia ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992, which the Committee on the Rights of the Child has interpreted to recommend the establishment of a minimum age of marriage of 18, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1985, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

In 1995 Tunisia signed, but has not yet ratified, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, including Article 21 regarding the prohibition of child marriage.

Tunisia has not signed or 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.

In May 2007 the government amended the Personal Status Code (Act No. 2007-32) to raise the minimum age of marriage for girls and boys to 18 years. Girls below this age can only get married with the consent of both their guardian and their mother, and with special authorisation from a judge in “extremely serious” cases.