Civil, religious and modern marriage

← All ceremonies

• Civil marriageLaw No. 008/PR/2013 defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman, celebrated publicly before the civil registrar. The file includes birth certificates, identity papers of the spouses and witnesses, a premarital medical certificate, a marriage contract, and a statement of the agreed bride price or an agreement not to pay one.
• At N’Djaména town hallUnder a May 2025 order, official weddings in the capital are held on Fridays from 2 to 6 pm at the central town hall (30,000 CFA francs on working days); ceremonies at home are not allowed there. A customary or religious marriage must be registered within two months.
• Muslim marriageIn Muslim families, the union is sealed by the fatiha, recited before witnesses by an imam or marabout. In town, the press describes a sequence of steps: first contact (“salam”), the bride’s suitcase, the henna night, the bride price, the fatiha, then setting up the home.Related people : Chadian Arabs, Kanembu / Bornu, Maba / Wadai / Masalit, Zaghawa / Bideyat / Kobe
• Christian marriageTo be checkedIn Christian families, especially in the south and in N’Djaména, the church blessing is often added to the customary bride price and civil marriage. Like any religious union, it must be registered to have legal effect. The order and detail of ceremonies by church are still to be documented.Related people : Sara
• Debate: the cost of the bride priceThe Chadian press describes bride prices and gifts that have become very expensive (money, gold, phones), delaying young people’s marriages. Local authorities have responded: caps in Baro (2021) and Dar-Zakhawa (2022), and a symbolic bride price set as an example by the sultan of Dar Kobé. Others defend the bride price as a sign of respect for the bride’s family.
• Debate: early marriage and consentSince 2015 the minimum age of marriage has been 18 for both sexes; forcing a minor into marriage is punishable by 5 to 10 years in prison. In 2016 the Minister for Women stated, using 2010 data, that 69% of women aged 20 to 49 had married before 18. In 2022, local fines for refusing a marriage proposal (“amchilini”) were challenged by women’s rights advocates.

Sources

• Loi n°008/PR/2013 portant organisation de l’état civil au Tchad (art. 28-30)
• UNICEF Data, CRVS Chad : enregistrement des naissances, mariages et décès
• Tchadinfos (27/05/2025), Mariages officiels célébrés chaque vendredi à la mairie centrale de N’Djaména
• Alwihda Info, La dot à l’islam : le sultan de Dar Kobé donne l’exemple
• Tribune Echos (2022), Dar-Zakhawa réforme les coutumes de mariage
• P. Djimoguinan (2022), Des fiançailles au mariage traditionnel : enquêtes d’élèves (Sara Kaba, Mandoul, Mbay, Zaghawa)
• Tchadinfos (26/04/2025), La dot, une barrière au mariage des jeunes
• Journal du Tchad (09/08/2021), Le prix de la dot fixé à Baro (Guéra)
• Ordonnance n°006/PR/2015 et loi n°029/PR/2015 portant interdiction du mariage d’enfants (Girls Not Brides)
• Jeune Afrique avec AFP (02/08/2016), Le Tchad face au défi du mariage précoce
• BBC Afrique (12/08/2022), Amendes « amchilini » pour refus de demande en mariage

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