Marriage and Human Sexuality
Senior 6 · General and Religious Studies
Marriage and Human Sexuality
Lesson 3 of 5
25 min
Imagine two couples. The first holds a large gusaba, a church service and a reception for five hundred guests, but never goes to the civil registrar. The second signs the register at the sector office one weekday morning with two witnesses and a few relatives. In the eyes of Rwandan law, only the second couple is married. Article 17 of the Constitution says that "a civil monogamous marriage between a man and a woman is the only recognised marital union".
The difference matters: it decides who inherits, who owns the house, and what protection each spouse has if things go wrong. This lesson compares the forms marriage takes around the world and in Rwanda, then sets out what makes a marriage valid or invalid in law and in faith.
Definition
Monogamy: marriage of one man to one woman.
Polygamy: marriage to more than one spouse at the same time. Polygyny is one man with several wives; polyandry, rare, is one woman with several husbands.
Customary marriage: a union made through a community's traditional ceremonies, such as gusaba and gukwa.
Religious marriage: a union celebrated by a church, mosque or other faith community according to its rules.
Civil marriage: a union celebrated by a state official, the civil registrar, and recorded in the civil register.
Validity: whether a marriage meets all the conditions that make it legally effective. A marriage that does not is null (void).
Bigamy: marrying while still legally married to someone else.
Mahr: in Islam, the gift the husband gives the bride, which belongs to her.
| Form | Where it is found | Status in Rwandan law |
|---|---|---|
| Civil monogamous marriage | Required by the state in Rwanda and many countries | The only recognised marriage (Constitution, Article 17) |
| Religious marriage | Church, mosque and other ceremonies | Allowed as a celebration; not legally binding on its own |
| Customary marriage | Traditional ceremonies in many African societies | May precede the civil marriage; not a marriage on its own (Article 196) |
| Polygyny | Permitted in some countries' laws and some customs | Not recognised; a second marriage while the first is valid is bigamy |
| Cohabitation without marriage | Common where people cannot afford ceremonies | Not a marriage; partners lack spouses' legal protection |
| Forced or child marriage | Still found in parts of the world | Absolutely null; a sexual act with a child is a crime |
Christian teaching holds monogamy to be God's plan: "the two will become one flesh" (Mark 10:8), and "let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband" (1 Corinthians 7:2).
Islamic teaching permits a man up to four wives on a strict condition: "marry of the women, who seem good to you, two or three or four; and if ye fear that ye cannot do justice (to so many) then one (only)" (4:3). The Qur'an also warns: "Ye will not be able to deal equally between (your) wives, however much ye wish (to do so)" (4:129). Many Muslim scholars read the two verses together as making monogamy the norm. In Rwanda, Muslims, like all citizens, marry monogamously under civil law.
Rwanda's Law N° 71 of 2024 governing persons and family sets out the steps in Figure 1.
| Condition of validity | Article | If it is broken |
|---|---|---|
| Both are at least 21; or 18 to 21 with written authorisation from the civil registrar at District level, for reasonable grounds | 197 | Absolute nullity (Article 223) |
| Free consent of both spouses | 195; Constitution, 17 | No consent: absolute nullity; consent given by mistake, fraud or duress: relative nullity (Article 226) |
| No prohibited relationship, such as direct lineal kinship, close collateral kinship or in-laws | 198 | Absolute nullity |
| Neither is still married to someone else | 199 | Bigamy: absolute nullity |
| Public celebration before a competent civil registrar, after publication | 195, 203, 207 | Clandestine celebration or an incompetent registrar: relative nullity (Article 226) |
Absolute nullity means the defect is so serious that the marriage cannot stand. Relative nullity means the defect mainly harms one spouse, who may ask a court to annul the marriage; the law limits when this can be done, for example after the spouses have lived together for six months after discovering the cause (Article 226).
Faith and law agree on the essentials: free consent, no existing marriage, no close kinship, and a public act witnessed by others.
Worked example 1: is this marriage valid?
Jean, 23, and Grace, 19, marry at the civil registry. They had not asked for any authorisation because Grace "looked older".
Step 1, find the rule. The minimum age is 21 (Article 197(1)). A person aged 18 to 21 may marry only with written authorisation from the civil registrar at District level, for reasonable grounds (Article 197(2)).
Step 2, apply it. Grace is 19 and no authorisation was granted.
Step 3, conclude. Under Article 223(1)(a), a marriage in which either spouse is under 21 without authorisation is absolutely null. The registrar should not have celebrated it. Had Grace applied in writing and been authorised, the marriage would be valid.
Worked example 2: a second "wife"
Patrick has been civilly married to Diane for ten years. He holds a traditional ceremony with Marie and calls her his second wife.
Analysis. Article 199 forbids a new marriage while the first is valid, and Article 17 of the Constitution recognises only civil monogamous marriage. A customary ceremony cannot create a marriage, and an attempted second civil marriage would be bigamy, absolutely null (Article 223(1)(c)).
Consequences. Diane remains Patrick's only wife, with all a spouse's rights. Marie has no rights as a spouse, which leaves her and any children exposed, although children keep their rights in relation to their parents. The case shows why the law insists on civil, monogamous marriage: to protect women and children.
Tip
Rule, apply, conclude. For a case question on validity, quote the article, apply it to the facts, then state whether the marriage is valid, absolutely null or relatively null. Three short steps earn more marks than a long story.
Warning
A dowry does not make a marriage, and its absence does not stop one. Many students write that gukwa is a legal condition. Article 196 says the opposite: traditional ceremonies may precede the civil marriage, and lack of a dowry cannot prevent it.
Important
Discuss. Some argue that the minimum marriage age should be 18, the age of majority; others that 21 protects young people, especially girls, from early marriage. Law N° 71 of 2024 chose 21 with an authorised exception from 18. Is this a good balance?
Practice
Sources and credits
Written by Ganzaa: Figure 1, the tables, the worked examples (the people in them are invented) and the exercises. This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
