Rwanda

7% of girls in Rwanda are married before their 18th birthday.

1% of boys in Rwanda are married before their 18th birthday.

Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that women and girls are somehow inferior to men and boys.

There is limited information on child marriage in Rwanda, but available studies suggest that is exacerbated by:

Rurality: Evidence suggests that child marriage is more common rural areas rather than urban areas.

Cultural norms: As reported by Action Aid, many people in Rwanda still condone child marriage and violence against women and girls. Additionally, norms around sexuality mean that girls are deterred from seeking contraceptive services. As a result, the majority of girls in Rwanda do not use contraception.

Sexual violence: According to Action Aid, nearly half of all women and girls in Rwanda have experience sexual violence by their 19th birthday. Some girls also engage in transactional sex and exploitative relations with older men (“sugar daddies”) to access money. Sexual violence and unplanned pregnancies can put girls at an increased risk of being married off early. A 2018 UNICEF study found that 24% of girls and 10% of boys were victims of sexual violence in Rwanda.

Displacement: Anecdotal evidence suggests that child marriage is practised in refugee camps.

Rwanda has committed to eliminate child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals. The government submitted a Voluntary National Review at the 2019 High Level Political Forum, but there was no mention of child marriage. The government has not submitted a Voluntary National Review at any High Level Political Forum since.

Rwanda co-sponsored the following Human Rights Council resolutions: the 2013 procedural resolution on child, early and forced marriage, the 2017 resolution on recognising the need to address child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian contexts, and the 2019 resolution on the consequences of child marriage. In 2014, Rwanda also signed a joint statement at the Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.

Rwanda co-sponsored the 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2020 UN General Assembly resolutions on child, early and forced marriage.

Rwanda ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991, which sets a minimum age of marriage of 18, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1981, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

During its 2020 review, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that the government take measures to prevent child marriage through a targeted national action plan.

During its 2015 Universal Periodic Review, Rwanda did not support recommendations to effectively enforce existing legislation in order to prevent and prohibit child marriage.

In 2001 Rwanda ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, including Article 21 regarding the prohibition of child marriage.

In 2004 Rwanda ratified the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, including Article 6 which sets the minimum age for marriage as 18.

In 2015 Rwanda signed the Kigali Declaration, which sets out a comprehensive framework for national human rights institutions to strengthen efforts to prevent and eliminate child marriage.

Rwanda is one of the countries where the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)/DREAMS Initiative is working to reduce rates of HIV among adolescent girls and young women.

Rwanda is a partner country of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).

Following peace and reconstruction efforts after the 1994 genocide, Rwanda is consistently ranked as the top Sub-Saharan African country in closing gender gaps due to its high female labour force and female political participation. While this is a positive step towards greater protection of women and girl’s rights, there is no information available about the measures the Rwandan government is taking to address child marriage.

In order to address gender-based violence and gender equality, the government has established Umugorobaw’Ababyeyi (parent’s evening forum” that seeks to raise awareness and campaign on gender quality, women’s empowerment and enhance gender accountability within the private sector.

The National Gender Policy 2018-2022 provides guidelines on sectoral policies and programs that aim to integrate gender issues within political, social, cultural and economic planning.

The HeForShe campaign promote gender equality and women’s empowerment, reaching over 206,623 people globally. Since, Rwanda ranks 2nd globally for committing to promote gender equality.

The government has also established gender-based violence specialised units that respond to daily cases of gender-based violence. This support is provided through the free hotline that facilitates quick responses to violence. Community policing and anti-gender-based violence and child protection committees work at the village level to raise awareness locally on violence.

In 2015, the Commonwealth National Human Rights Institutions agreed a new Declaration, the Kigali Declaration, to prevent and end child marriage, after a two-day working session in Kigali, Rwanda.

Following amendments in 2016, under the Law No. 32/2016 governing natural persons and family the minimum legal age of marriage is 21 years, without exceptions.