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DR Congo – Law 87-010 on the Family Code

  • Country: Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Law status: Discriminatory law in force
  • Law Type: Marriage, Divorce, Polygamy & Wife Obedience

Sex discrimination in marital status laws renders women and girls subordinate in many aspects of family relations before, during and after marriage. 

Laws which allow the man to be designated as the head of the household allow the husband to unilaterally make decisions that may affect the rest of the family, including for example, where the family lives. 

Article 444 of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Family Code of 1987 provides that a husband is head of the household

Article 444. The husband is the head of household. He must protect his wife; she must obey her husband.

Explore the Democratic Republic of Congo’s full law

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