By Evance Kapito

Copyright faceofmalawi

Burkina Faso has adopted a new Personal and Family Code that sets the minimum marriage age at 18 years for both girls and boys, marking a historic shift in the country’s family law.

Previously, the law permitted girls to marry at 17 and boys at 20, with judicial exceptions allowing girls as young as 15 to marry under certain circumstances.

The reform has been hailed as a major step toward gender equality and child protection in the West African nation, where child marriage remains widespread. According to UNICEF, more than half of Burkinabé girls are married before turning 18, and nearly one in ten are married before 15.

Advocates say the new code could help protect girls from early and forced marriages, which are often linked to higher rates of school dropout, health risks from early pregnancies, and entrenched poverty cycles.

However, questions remain over whether courts will still be able to authorize marriages at 16, a loophole that campaigners argue could weaken the effectiveness of the new law.

Burkina Faso now joins a growing list of African countries reforming family laws to strengthen protections for women and children, in line with international conventions on human rights and child welfare.