RWANDA
RWANDA
FEMALE
MALE
PREVALENCE OF MARRIAGE BY AGE 15
0%
N/A
PREVALENCE OF MARRIAGE BY AGE 18
6%
0.40%
Year of data:
2019-20
Source:
DHS 2019-20
Year of data:
2019-20
Source:
DHS 2019-20
LEGAL AGE OF MARRIAGE
21
21
LOWEST PERMITTED AGE OF MARRIAGE DUE TO EXCEPTIONS IN THE LAW
18
18
Law(s) which govern marriage and/or child marriage:
Law No. 32/2016 (amended 2024)
ABOUT THE LAW AND ANY EXCEPTIONS
CAN MARRIED OR PREGNANT GIRLS GO TO SCHOOL?
In 2016 the Persons and Family Law made 21 the legal age of marriage with no exceptions; in 2024 the law was amended to allow men and women aged 18 to marry with the dispensation of the civil registrar. However, the law also explicitly permits the optional payment of a dowry.
Rwanda also has strong laws regarding child sexual abuse, with all acts with a child below the age of 18 punished with hefty custodial sentences. It also explicitly criminalises the act of child marriage if conducted as a result of rape of a child.
No explicit law prevents or protects the right to education for married, pregnant, or parenting girls.