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Monday 19 December 2016

13-year-old girl forced to marry her ‘rapist’ step-brother




A man in his 20s has married his 13-year-old step-sister after making her pregnant.
The marriage took place in the northwest region of Kef in Tunisia, in the presence of their parents who had previously attempted to stop the wedding.
Although having sex with someone under the age of 15 is punishable by up to six years in prison under Tunisian law, according to article 277 of the country’s criminal code, if no force was used during the attack an alleged rapist can halt his prosecution by marrying his victim.
Chokri Mejri, a spokesperson for the court, claimed the girl “was not raped”.
“We interviewed the girl and after verifying all the details, we considered her fit for marriage,” Mr Mejri said.
The North African country has lead the way on advancing women’s rights within the Arab world, yet gender stereotypes and archaic laws remain ingrained in its justice system.
The court’s decision has enraged Tunisians who demonstrated outside the country’s parliament on Wednesday holding placards bearing messages such as: “How I met your mother? I raped her when she was 13.”

Tunisia’s prime minister said on Friday discussion of a bill to change the law should be a “priority” ahead of a review of “all articles concerning the fight against violence targeting women”.
A bill to counter violence against women was drafted in 2014 but is still waiting to be discussed in parliament.
“Our country can no longer refer to laws that are old-fashioned and which do not reflect the spirit of rights and liberties,” Youssef Chahed told Mosaique FM radio, vowing that 2017 would be “the year of the child”.

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