Romantic relationship in Mauritania

Islam is Mauritania's state religion, and relationship expectations are closely connected with family, religion and marriage. A formal marriage is between a man and a woman under the Personal Status Code. Marriage creates recognized rights and duties, including maintenance, housing, fidelity and mutual assistance. The husband is legally described as head of the household, while the wife assists with family management; a wife may generally work outside the home within the limits of Sharia. Each spouse may manage personal assets independently. Polygyny is permitted under equity conditions, and an existing or future wife must receive information when another wife has stipulated monogamy. Khitba means a marriage proposal or engagement. Either party may withdraw, and khitba does not automatically create marital rights or duties. The marriage contract is required for legal recognition. A marriage generally requires both parties to have legal capacity and be at least 18, subject to a guardian-related exception for incapacity. An adult woman's own consent and a WELI, meaning her marriage guardian, are required; the legal framework treats her silence as consent. The WELI succession can include the father, brother or other paternal relatives, and a judge can intervene when a WELI refuses without a valid basis. Two honest witnesses and an agreed, known and lawful SADAQ, meaning the dowry, are also required. The marriage contract can record additional conditions. The legal framework restricts marriage between a Muslim woman and a non-Muslim man and between a Muslim man and a non-Ahl al-Kitab woman. Marriage registration uses the Agence Nationale du Registre des Populations et des Titres Sécurisés (ANRPTS), usually through a Centre d'Accueil des Citoyens (CAC), together with the civil registrar. The spouses or their representatives, the WELI and two witnesses participate. The marriage act records identity documents, the SADAQ and any agreed conditions. Registration under the Personal Status Code should occur within a maximum of three months. The official portal is free, and certificates are issued at the CAC, but no reliable general processing time is stated. An unregistered marriage can be proved only through a final court judgment. Consensual sex outside marriage is treated as zina, the Penal Code offence concerning sexual relations outside marriage, for adult Muslims. Article 307 states proof through four witnesses, confession or pregnancy in a woman. For an unmarried person, the text provides public flogging and one year of imprisonment; for a married or divorced person, it states stoning to death. Article 308 states public stoning for a same-sex act between adult Muslim men, while women are referred to Article 306. Reported practical enforcement differs from the statutory wording: the same-sex provisions have reportedly not been enforced, and the last reported stoning was more than 30 years ago. The legal and social exposure nevertheless remains high. Same-sex partnerships have no legal recognition, and unmarried cohabitation has no equivalent legal status. Child marriage remains prevalent, particularly in rural areas, despite the legal age of 18 and weak enforcement. UNICEF reports that more than one third of women aged 20 to 24 were married before 18, while an OECD 2023 indicator records 27.8% of girls aged 15 to 19 as married or in a union under that indicator's definition. These figures concern specified populations and measures and should not be treated as a description of every relationship. Intimate-partner violence is a direct relationship risk. An OECD 2023 measure reports 8.8% lifetime and 6.4% past-12-month intimate-partner violence among the women and girls covered by the dataset. A separate measure found that 26% of women aged 15 to 49 considered a husband hitting his wife justified in specified circumstances. The latest checked reporting did not establish an enacted comprehensive violence-against-women law; a draft remained pending. Do not assume that a general protection law or a guaranteed shelter pathway exists. The Ministry of Social Action, Childhood and the Family (MASEF), through the Direction de la Famille, de la Promotion Féminine et du Genre (DFPFG), provides consultations juridiques ou sociales for family members. No substantive documents are required for that consultation. Possible support includes social assistance, legal or judicial support, maintenance support and social mediation, with referral to the competent authority. The process can differ when a spouse lives in an interior wilaya, abroad or in the military. The Ministry of Justice's regional Bureau d'assistance judiciaire can support a person who cannot afford legal help. It generally requires identification, proof of residence, proof of poverty or social-registry status, and a case summary or evidence. Legal aid is free and may take from 15 days to a maximum of one month. A marriage can end through death or dissolution. Talaq is a husband's unilateral repudiation recorded by a judge or Mouslih, a conciliator, after conciliation. Khol' is a wife-initiated repudiation in return for lawful compensation. Tatliq is dissolution ordered by a judge. A wife can seek divorce for proven harm after failed conciliation; refusal to provide maintenance can also support a divorce application. A husband's absence for more than one year may provide a ground for divorce, while disappearance generally requires four years before that process. Arbiters from both families may be involved, and if conciliation fails the judge can proceed. After separation, a divorce declaration is handled through ANRPTS or a CAC using a judicial admission confirming talaq or a judgment confirming tatliq together with a marriage extract. The service is free, but no general processing time is stated. A former wife may claim nefaqa, meaning maintenance, and a consolation gift. The idda, or waiting period, lasts three menstrual periods or three months when the woman is not pregnant, and continues until childbirth during pregnancy. Widowhood has a waiting period of four months and ten days. A child born outside marriage does not automatically receive legal filiation toward the father under Article 71 of the Personal Status Code; the main stated legal effect is a marriage prohibition. ANRPTS has an adultérin enrolment procedure, which requires prosecutor authorization, uses the CAC or ANRPTS and has no stated processing time. The procedure is free. For STI concerns connected with intimacy, the Ministry of Health provides a dermatology or STI consultation during working hours for 50 MRU without documents. HIV confirmation through INRSP requires a physician's analysis form, is free and takes approximately two to ten working days.