Forced Marriage Overseas: Sudan
Overview
Individuals from the United States will likely face serious hurdles if trying to avoid and/or escape marriages in Sudan. Despite progress made in trying to set forth constitutional protections for human rights since the end of the 20 year civil war, women in Sudan continue to be subject to extremely high levels of violence, including domestic violence, rape, and forced and child marriage, from both state and non-state actors. Women were disproportionately affected by displacement and poverty associated with conflict, making them more vulnerable gender-based violence.1
For further information and guidance for individuals from the U.S. that are facing or fleeing a forced marriage in Sudan, please contact the Forced Marriage Initiative.
Marriage in Sudan
Girls and women in Sudan generally have very limited rights when entering into or attempting to dissolve a marriage. The majority of the population in Sudan is governed by the Muslim Personal Status Law,2 which does not set a minimum age for marriage, except that both parties should be past the age of puberty.3 In practice, based on Islamic traditions and jurisprudence, girls as young as 10 years of age and boys as young as 15 years (or earlier depending on onset of puberty), can be married.4 For certain minorities (including Christians), Sudanese law recognizes civil, non-Muslim religious ceremonies, but such marriages must be properly documented to be considered legally binding. For civil marriages, male applicants must be at least 18 years old, while females must be at least 16 years old.5
In other minority groups, non-registered marriages – known as orfy weddings – are valid but do not guarantee the wife’s legal rights,6 and are governed by the customary law of the particular ethnic group to which the participants belong.7 The payment of a dowry from the husband’s family to his future wife’s family is also central to these customary law marriages.8 There does not appear to be any age limit for traditional marriages, and girls may be betrothed as early as infancy.9 According to UNICEF estimates, in Sudan 12% of women ages 20-24 were first married or in a union before they were age 15, and 34% were married before reaching age 18.10
The right of women to divorce varies according to the law under which they were married in Sudan. While divorce is generally harder for women to obtain than men under any system, Muslim women have greater rights and protections than women seeking to dissolve their marriage under customary law. In certain communities, women may face pressure to stay in a marriage, as their family will lose the dowry in the event of divorce. In addition, under customary legal practices, on their husband’s death, widows are commonly required to marry another man in the husband’s family. Christian women and men are only able to obtain a divorce in cases of adultery or extreme domestic abuse.11
Although the Interim National Constitution guarantees a woman’s right to fully and freely consent to marriage and protects women and children from cultural practices that undermine their dignity, forced and early marriages continue to be a significant problem in Sudan. In addition to laws and practices that condone forced and early marriages, more than two decades of armed conflict and the on-going conflicts in the south and west has caused millions of Sudanese to be displaced from their homes and communities, with many living in camps for internally displaced persons where early and forced marriages occur more often.12 Victims of rape in these camps are often forced to marry to escape the stigma associated with pregnancy outside of marriage.13
Potential Risks and Protections in Country
It is unlikely that current Sudanese laws and authorities would adequately protect a girl or woman who faces a forced marriage. Sudanese law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, which is common in Sudan. Women who file claims against their husbands for spousal abuse, which is a valid ground for divorce, are subjected to accusations of lying or spreading false information, harassment, and detention. This makes many women reluctant to file formal complaints against their husbands. The police normally do not intervene in domestic disputes. Rape is also a serious problem throughout Sudan, and authorities often obstruct justice for rape survivors.14 Victims may refuse to report their cases to family or authorities due to the fear that they would be punished or arrested for “illegal pregnancy” or tried for adultery.15
Special Challenges in Returning to the United States
Women and girls from the United States that are fleeing forced marriage situations in Sudan may face challenges in exiting the country, particularly with children. A married woman cannot obtain a passport like an unmarried woman – instead, she must be inscribed in her husband’s passport.16 Sudanese officials require children and spouses of Sudanese citizens to have permission from their fathers or spouses to leave the country.17
- The Tahirih Justice Center Forced Marriage Initiative
We are available to help individuals from the United States who are facing or fleeing forced marriage in Sudan, including providing phone, text, and email support, connecting with the U.S. government and local resources, and coordinating shelter and services back in the United States.
- The U.S. State Department
The State Department is available to assist U.S. citizens that are victims of forced marriage with replacement of travel documents and return travel to the United States. However, in Sudan, U.S. State Department response and assistance may be restricted due to the ongoing internal conflict. For updated information and travel alerts, please visit the department’s webpage on international travel in Sudan. - U.S. Embassy Khartoum
Contact the embassy in the case of an emergency.
Tel: (249) 1-870-22000
Email: ACSKhartoum@state.gov
REFERENCES
1 Social Institutions and Gender Index: Country – Sudan, available at http://genderindex.org/country/sudan (last visited on Jan. 26, 2014).
2 Abdelsalam Hassan, Sudanese Personal Status Law of 1991, A New Legislation to Ongoing Human Rights Violations (2010), available at http://www.sudan-forall.org/sections/ihtiram/pages/ihtiram-special-issue-abdelsalam/pdf_files/Abdelsalam-Hassan-Personal-Status-Law-of-1991-English.pdf.
3 Reem Abbas, Time to Let Sudan’s Girls Be Girls, Not Brides (2013), available at http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/07/time-to-let-sudans-girls-be-girls-not-brides/ (last visited Jan. 24, 2014).
4 Department of State, Sudan 2012 Human Rights Report, available at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/204383.pdf (last visited on Jan. 31, 2014).
5 US Embassy Sudan, General Information on Getting Married, available at http://sudan.usembassy.gov/getting_married.html. (last visited on Jan. 24, 2014).
6 Id.
7 Sharanjeet Parmar, An Overview of the Sudanese Legal System and Legal Research (2007), at 8, available at http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/sudan.htm (last visited on Dec. 31, 2013).
8 Department of State, Sudan 2012 Human Rights Report, available at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/204383.pdf (last visited on Jan. 31, 2014).
9 Reem Abbas, Time to Let Sudan’s Girls Be Girls, Not Brides (2013), available at http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/07/time-to-let-sudans-girls-be-girls-not-brides/ (last visited Jan. 24, 2014).
10 U.S. Department of State, Sudan 2012 Human Rights Report, available at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/204383.pdf (last visited on Jan. 31, 2014).
11 Id.
12 Id.; Reem Abbas, Time to Let Sudan’s Girls Be Girls, Not Brides (2013), available at http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/07/time-to-let-sudans-girls-be-girls-not-brides/ (last visited Jan. 24, 2014).
13 U.S. Department of State, Sudan 2012 Human Rights Report, available at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/204383.pdf (last visited on Jan. 31, 2014).
14 Id.
15 Social Institutions and Gender Index: Country – Sudan, available at http://genderindex.org/country/sudan (last visited on Jan. 26, 2014); U.S. Department of State, Sudan 2012 Human Rights Report, available at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/204383.pdf (last visited on Jan. 31, 2014).
16 See http://wbl.worldbank.org/data/exploreeconomies/sudan/2013.
17 Department of State, Travel and Passport Information, Sudan, available at http://www.us-passport-service-guide.com/sudan-entry-requirements.html.
