Algeria is not ranked in the 2012 SIGI due to missing data for one or more
SIGI variables. However, the country note below sets out information and data
relating to variables where this is available information.

The country was ranked 75 out of 102 in the 2009 Social Institutions and
Gender Index.

Algeria is ranked 96th out of 187 countries in the 2011 Human Development
Index with a score of 0.698. The 2011 UNDP Gender Inequality Index score
is 0.412 placing it at 71 out of 146 countries. Algeria is ranked 121st out of
135 countries in the 2011 World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Index, with a
score of 0.5991.

Discriminatory
Family Code:

Algeria’s Family Code was revised in 2005, removing
some clauses present in the previous Family Code that had directly
discriminated against women.^[19] For
instance, the role of a woman’s official male guardian is now largely symbolic.^[20] However,
women’s rights groups in the country consider that the reforms have not gone
far enough in protecting women’s rights within the family.^[21]

According to the new Family Code, women cannot marry without the consent of
their guardians (who are always male), however guardians cannot force a woman
to marry against her will, or oppose a marriage.^[22] A
marriage is only recognised as valid when both spouses have given their free
consent.^[23] The
minimum legal age of marriage in Algeria is 19 years for men and women.^[24]
 The average age of marriage for women is now 29.9, and is increasing
annually in both urban and rural areas, according to the 2010 CEDAW report.^[25]
 Up-to-date figures for the number of early marriages are not available,
but data from 2002 held by the United Nations indicates that 1.8% of girls aged
15-19 were married, divorced or widowed.^[26]
 However, early marriage is still prevalent in rural areas where family
traditions prevail. The new code appears to have removed stipulations that
prohibited women from marrying men who are not of Algerian nationality.^[27]

Polygamy is legal in Algeria according to the Family Code, under which it
appears men can take up to four wives.^[28] However,
legislative changes introduced in 2005^[29] make it
quite difficult for a man to take a second wife, as he must obtain the consent
of both the first and the proposed second wife, and make an application to the
Family Court for permission.^[30]  The
Court then decides whether the husband’s reason for wanting to take a second
wife is justifiable, and whether or not he is in a position to provide for both
wives.^[31] According
to a 2010 report published by Freedom House, 3% of households in Algeria are
polygamous.^[32]

The new Family Code states that the husband and wife have reciprocal rights
and duties towards each other; the clause included in the previous Family Code
that ’the duty of the wife is to obey her husband’, has been removed.^[33]
 If the couple has children, both parents are responsible for the
protection of their children and for providing them with an education.^[34] However,
under the new Code, parental authority remains with the father, and the mother
is only able to make decisions concerning the child ‘in an emergency’ if the
father is absent.^[35]  

The Family Code continues to treat men and women differently in the case of
divorce. ^[36]  Men
have the right to divorce without any justification, although the court may
place conditions on the divorce. By contrast, women can obtain a divorce only
under certain conditions (e.g. abandonment), or the practice of khula, whereby
a woman can divorce her husband unilaterally if she pays him a sum of money.^[37] Under
the new Family Code, the conditions under which a wife can seek a divorce have
been broadened, and include ‘inconsolable differences’ and failure to observe
conditions included in the marriage contract.^[38]  The
new Family Code also stipulates that when a divorced couple have children,
decisions regarding custody should be made in the best interests of the
children; in the majority of cases, custody is now granted to the mother, while
the father is obliged to provide financial support.^[39] In
addition, when a mother has been granted custody of her children, she obtains
parental authority over them.^[40]
 However, in all divorce cases, judges in Family Courts are legally
obliged to persuade the couple to reconcile.^[41] Provisions
in the previous Family Code whereby men who obtained a divorce had the right to
keep the family house and immediately evict their wives and children have been
removed, although the new Code only appears to allow the children (and by
extension their mother) to remain in the family home until such time as the
husband has made alternative arrangements to lodge them elsewhere.^[42]
 If a woman remarries, she loses custody of her children.^[43] According
to the 2010 Freedom House report, single and divorced women face
marginalisation in society.

Amendments made to the Nationality Code in 2005 mean that Algerian women
married to men who are not Algerian citizens are now able to pass Algerian
citizenship onto their children.^[44]

Sharia law applies in the event of inheritance, as governed by the Family
Code.^[45]  In
general, a woman is entitled to the equivalent of half her brother’s (or
relevant male relative) share.^[46]  In
some cases, women are pressured by male relatives to give up their share of the
inheritance.^[47] But in
other families, parents circumvent the existing legislation and re-establish
equality between their children by gifting property to female heirs while the
owner is still alive.^[48] This
may reflect a growing refusal among Algerian society to accept unequal
inheritance rights, and to challenge this discriminatory institution.

_{[19] CEDAW (2010)
p.14; Marzouki (2010) p.30. See Tamzali (2005) for a full discussion of
the previous Family Code and its discriminatory provisions. [20] Marzouki (2010) p.30 [21] Marzouki (2010) p.30 [22] Marzouki (2010) p.37 [23] CEDAW (2010) p.14 [24] CEDAW (2010) p.14 [25] CEDAW (2010) pp.20, 81 [26] United Nations Population Division / DESA
(2008).  Data source: Pan-Arab Project for Family Health Survey: A
survey programme implemented since 2000 by the League of Arab States. [27] Tamzali (2005)
p.16 [28] CEDAW (2010) p.15; Tamzali (2005)
p.15. References in both documents are to men taking a second wife.  [29] Ordinance of 27
February 2005 (CEDAW (2010) p.15) [30] CEDAW (2010) p.15 [31] CEDAW (2010) p.15 [32] Marzouki (2010) p.37 [33] CEDAW (2010) p.15; Tamzali (2005) p.13;
Marzouki (2010) p.38 [34] CEDAW (2010) p.15 [35] CEDAW (2010) p.16 [36] Tamzali (2005) p.14 [37] Tamzali (2005) p.14; Marzouki (2010) p.39 [38] CEDAW (2010) p.15;
Tamzali (2005) p.14 [39] CEDAW (2010) p.16 [40] CEDAW (2010) p.16 [41] CEDAW (2010) p.16 [42] Tamzali (2005) p.13 [43] Marzouki (2010) p.39 [44] Amnesty International (2010) p.62; CEDAW
(2010) p.13; Marzouki (2010) p.33 [45] CEDAW (2010) p.13 [46] Marzouki (2010) p.43 [47] Marzouki (2010) p.43 [48] Marzouki (2010) p.43}