Revolutionary: Tunisian women can now marry non-Muslim men

by WorldTribune Staff, September 17, 2017

Tunisian Parliament has voted to allow women in the nation to marry non-Muslim men, overturning a law enacted in 1973.

Tunisia has been making strides in recent years on women’s rights. / picture-alliance / DPA

Previously, any non-Muslim man who wished to marry a Tunisian woman was forced to convert to Islam and display a certificate of his conversion to the authorities. He would then receive a marriage permit.

“The marriage law was an obstacle which did not allow for freedom in choosing a spouse,” Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebi said last month during an International Women’s Day celebration.

The new law has already gone into effect.

In Tunisia, 99 percent of the population are Muslims, but there are small minorities of Jews and Christians.

Tunisian Parliament last year nullified a law which had allowed rapists to evade punishment by marrying their victims.


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