Côte d'Ivoire: Forced marriage, including among the Malinke; the prevalence of forced marriage and state protection available; the possibility for a young woman to refuse the man arranged for her (2014-March 2016)

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Legislation

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a manager for the protection, education and capacity building program of the National Organization for the Child, Woman and Family (Organisation nationale pour l'enfant, la femme et la famille, ONEF), an Ivorian organization that works to prevent early marriages (ONEF n.d.), stated that legislation in Côte d'Ivoire on family and marriage establishes [translation] "free and voluntary consent and age" as the two conditions to be met in order to marry (ibid. 6 Mar. 2016). The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014 indicates that [US English version] "[t]he [Ivorian] law prohibits the marriage of men under the age of 20 and women under the age of 18 without parental consent" (25 June 2015, 20). Moreover, in a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the Secretary General of the Association of Women Lawyers of Côte d'Ivoire (Association des femmes juristes de Côte d'Ivoire, AFJCI), an organization that promotes the rights of women, the family and the child (AFJCI n.d.), stated that Article 378 of the Ivorian Penal Code penalizes forced marriage (ibid. 26 Feb. 2016). Paragraph 1 of Article 378 of the Penal Code states the following:

[translation]

Shall be penalized by imprisonment of one to five years and a fine of 360,000 to 1,000,000 francs [CFA, about C$812 to 2,255 ] or one of these penalties only, one who:

forces a person under the age of 18 to enter into a customary or religious marital union. (Côte d'Ivoire 1981)

In its concluding observations on the initial report of Côte d'Ivoire under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, published in 2015, the United Nations Human Rights Committee is [UN English version] "concerned about the persistence of certain harmful practices" in Côte d'Ivoire, which include early marriage, despite its prohibition by law (UN 28 Apr. 2015, para. 12). That same source states that these practices occur [UN English version] "particularly in rural areas and in some regions" (ibid.). Country Reports 2014 notes that [US English version] "traditional marriages were performed with girls as young as 14" in 2014 (US 25 June 2015, 20).

2. Prevalence of Early and Forces Marriage

The 2011-2012 Demographic and Health and Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (Enquête démographique et de santé et à indicateurs multiples, EDS-MICS) [1], conducted jointly by the Ministry of Health and Fight Against Aids and the National Institute of Statistics (Institut national de la statistique, INS) of Côte d'Ivoire, states that 12 percent of 6,084 respondents, aged 25 to 49, were in a union for the first time before the age of 15, and 36 percent before the age of 18 (Côte d'Ivoire June 2013, 62-63). The survey also reveals that respondents from rural areas and those from the country's northwestern and northern regions were in their first union at an even younger age (ibid., 63).

According to an article published in the Ivorian daily L'Inter, the President of the Amnesty International office in Côte d'Ivoire stated during International Women's Day that, based on a survey, [translation] ""in 2015, 20.7 percent [of] young girls were married before the age of 15"" (10 Mar. 2016). Corroborating information or a copy of the survey in question could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2.1 Prevalence of Forced Marriage Among the Malinke

Sources state that forced marriage is [translation] "widespread" among the Malinke [2] (AFJCI 26 Feb. 2016; ONEF 6 Mar. 2016; associate professor 8 Mar. 2016). According to a prosecutor in Côte d'Ivoire cited in an article published by the French daily Libération in 2014, the practice of forced marriage is still ""quite widespread"" among the Malinke, and it is ""culturally driven"" (23 Nov. 2014). The ONEF program manager explained that forced marriage [translation] "is part of the concept of marriage among the Malinke"; he added that the custom also provides that the parents escort their daughter back to her spouse and bring him a whip (ONEF 6 Mar. 2016). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to the Secretary General of AFJCI, Malinke women who are married by force are generally between 15 and 35 years old at the time of marriage (AFJCI 26 Feb. 2016). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted within the time constraints of this Response.

Still according to the Secretary General of AFJCI, the prevalence of force marriage among the Malinke does not vary depending on a young woman's level of education (ibid.). In contrast, an associate professor of history at Howard University in Washington, whose work regards the history of Côte d'Ivoire, stated in correspondence with the Research Directorate that [translation] "forced marriage is widespread, except in families where most of the individuals have pursued a relatively high education," that is, high-school level (Associate Professor 8 Mar. 2016). The ONEF program manager also stated that forced marriage is [translation] "increasingly less common" in educated families (ONEF 6 Mar. 2016).

3. Possibility of Refusing a Forced Marriage and Its Consequences

The ONEF program manager provided the following information about the possibility of a young woman evading a forced marriage and the consequences of such a refusal:

[translation]

According to tradition, a young girl has no right to refuse to marry the man whom her parents chose for her, to the extent that her opinion, and even less her agreement, do not surpass tradition. … The family, considering the girl's refusal as an affront and a disgrace, has the right to disinherit her, renounce her and chase her from the family. In the worst of cases, the father, unable to live with this dishonour, may kill his daughter. (ibid.)

According to the Secretary General of AFJCI, the young woman [translation] "may refuse" the marriage but, in such circumstances, she will be generally "a victim of social pressure" or "chased out of the family home" (AFJCI 26 Feb. 2016). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the President of the Women's Centre for Democracy and Human Rights in Côte d'Ivoire (Centre féminin pour la démocratie et les droits humains en Côte d'Ivoire, CEFCI), an Ivorian NGO founded in 2003 (CEFCI n.d.), stated that if a girl is forced to marry, she may not refuse this marriage, given the [translation] "very detrimental consequences" of the refusal, including "frequent" abuse by her family and the risk that she may find herself homeless and have to turn to prostitution to survive (ibid. 1 Mar. 2016).

4. State Protection Available

The ONEF program manager stated that [translation] "state social services, … the police and the gendarmerie-to receive and examine the victims' complaints-and the courts" are among the recourses available to young women who may be or who have been forced into a marriage (ONEF 6 Mar. 2015). However, according to the Secretary General of AFJCI, young women prefer resorting to social services to attempt mediation with their family rather than using the court system, the latter of which she says is [translation] "rare" (AFJCI 26 Feb. 2016). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. According to the ONEF program manager, young women may benefit from advice and follow up from social services (ONEF 6 Mar. 2016). The President of CEFCI stated that the Ministry for the Promotion of Women, the Family and the Protection of the Child has [translation] "[a] unit … to assist and protect women whose rights have been violated" and that the offices of this department "in the communities of Côte d'Ivoire facilitate this fieldwork" (CEFCI 1 Mar. 2016).

4.1 Trial in Bouaké

Sources note that the first trial for forced marriage in Côte d'Ivoire was held in October 2014 in Bouaké (Libération 23 Nov. 2014; Dosso 25 Nov. 2014). Sources specify that the father of the family-being tried for attempting to forcefully marry his 11-year-old daughter to a cousin-was arrested through the joint intervention of a school director and an NGO (ibid.; AFP 28 Oct. 2014). According to sources, the father of the family was sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of 360,000 CFA francs [about C$812] (ibid. 29 Oct. 2014; Libération 23 Nov. 2014).

Published on the African news blog Afriknow, which aims to "share political, economic and social developments in the [African] continent" (LOGIQ n.d.), an article by Aïssatou Dosso, a Quebecker writing a Master's thesis in international law on transitional justice in Côte d'Ivoire (ibid.), describes this process as [translation] "a symbol of the awakening of the public institutions to a phenomenon that has been to date kept in silence" (Dosso 25 Nov. 2014). According to Libération, [translation] "[t]he standard permissiveness of the Ivorian justice system regarding cases of 'customary violence' against women is losing ground to increasingly zealous magistrates" (23 Nov. 2014). Further information on legislation regarding forced marriages could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] The survey, conducted from December 2011 to May 2012, concerned a "national sample of 10,413 homes … selected … in order to provide an adequate representation" (Côte d'Ivoire June 2013, 7).

[2] For further information on the Malinke ethnic group, see Response to Information Request CIV105478.

References

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 29 October 2014. "Côte d'Ivoire : un père condamné à un an de prison pour le mariage précoce de sa fille." [Accessed 4 Mar. 2016]

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 28 October 2014. "Côte d'Ivoire : Aïcha, 11 ans, héroïne malgré elle de la lutte contre le mariage précoce." [Accessed 4 Mar. 2016]

Associate Professor of history, Howard University, Washington, DC. 8 March 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Association des femmes juristes de Côte d'Ivoire (AFJCI). 26 February 2016. Telephone interview with the Secretary General.

Association des femmes juristes de Côte d'Ivoire (AFJCI). N.d. "Objectifs et missions." [Accessed 17 Mar. 2016]

Centre féminin pour la démocratie et les droits humains en Côte d'Ivoire (CEFCI). 1 March 2016. Correspondence from the President to the Research Directorate.

Centre féminin pour la démocratie et les droits humains en Côte d'Ivoire (CEFCI). N.d. "Présentation du CEFCI." [Accessed 17 Mar. 2016]

Côte d'Ivoire. June 2013. Ministère de la Santé et de la Lutte contre le sida and Institut national de la statistique (INS). Enquête démographique et de santé et à indicateurs multiples (EDS-MICS) 2011-2012. [Accessed 3 Mar. 2016]

Côte d'Ivoire. 1981 (amended in 2015). Le Code pénal. [Accessed 23 Mar. 2016]

Dosso, Aïssatou. 25 November 2014. "Journée contre les violences faites aux femmes : premier procès pour mariage précoce en Côte d'Ivoire." Blog Afriknow. [Accessed 4 Mar. 2016]

L'Inter. 10 March 2016. "'20,7 % de jeunes filles mariées avant 15 ans' selon Amnesty Côte d'Ivoire." [Accessed 16 Mar. 2016]

Libération. 23 November 2014. Solène Chalvon. "En Côte-d'Ivoire, les jeunes promises ne sont plus de mise." [Accessed 4 Mar. 2016]

Les Offices jeunesse internationaux du Québec (LOGIQ). N.d. "Cinq Québécois accueillis à Strasbourg par le Conseil de l'Europe pour participer à un séminaire international contre le discours sexiste en ligne." [Accessed 22 Mar. 2016]

Organisation nationale pour l'enfant, la femme et la famille (ONEF). 6 March 2016. Correspondence from the manager of the protection, education and capacity building program to the Research Directorate

Organisation nationale pour l'enfant, la femme et la famille (ONEF). N.d. "Connaître l'ONEF : domaines d'intervention." [Accessed 17 Mar. 2016]

United Nations (UN). 28 April 2015. Comité des droits de l'homme. Observations finales concernant le rapport initial de la Côte d'Ivoire. (CCPR/C/CIV/CO/1) [Accessed 26 Feb. 2016]

United States (US). 25 June 2015. Department of State. "Rapport 2014 sur les droits de l'homme en Côte d'Ivoire." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014. [Accessed 26 Feb. 2016]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Côte d'Ivoire - ministère de la Solidarité, de la Famille, de la Femme et de l'Enfant; Fondation Djigui, la bonne espérance; Ligue ivoirienne des droits de l'homme.

Internet sites, including: Abidjan911.com; AllAfrica; Amnesty International; BBC; Côte d'Ivoire - Institut national de la statistique; ecoi.net; Factiva; Fraternité matin; Freedom House; Genre en action; Girls Not Brides; Human Rights Watch; IRIN; Jeune Afrique; Minority Rights Group International; Norway - Landinfo; Le Sursaut; UN - UNICEF, UN Population Fund, UN Women, UN Development Program, Refworld.