Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Consolée Uwimana, has urged couples to abandon cultural and financial excuses for avoiding legal marriage, saying the practice of cohabitation without official registration undermines families and leaves children vulnerable.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of Family Week in Nyamasheke District, Western Province, Uwimana dismissed claims that poverty, high bride prices, or doubts about a partner’s character justify postponing marriage before the law.
“Marriage before the law is a shield for your family and for the generations that come after you,” she said. “Excuses about money or testing a partner do not stand against the importance of protecting children and ensuring families have legal rights and access to services.”
The week-long campaign, held under the theme “Building a Resilient and Safe Family,” featured community services such as health screenings, child nutrition support, reception of gender-based violence cases, and a mass wedding ceremony. Twenty-two couples who had been cohabiting in Ruharambuga Sector were officially married during the event.
Uwimana noted that some men still claim they cannot afford to marry due to the cost of dowries or ceremonies, while others treat cohabitation as a “trial” before committing. She emphasized that Rwanda’s 2024 Family Law allows couples to wed even when bride price has not been paid.
“The real investment is not in lavish parties, but in building a stable home where children are raised responsibly,” she said. “Trial marriages only bring instability, and too often children end up neglected or abandoned.”
The minister praised the couples who legalized their marriages during the ceremony, calling their decision a significant step in safeguarding their families’ dignity, rights, and future.
Family Week, organized annually, aims to address challenges such as domestic conflict, unregistered unions, gender-based violence, teenage pregnancies, malnutrition, drug abuse, and school dropouts.
