Burkina Faso raises the legal age for marriage to 18 years old

1 September 2025 – Burkina Faso has adopted the bill for the new Personal and Family Code (CPF), changing the minimum legal age for marriage to 18 years old for both girls and boys.

Previously, the minimum age of marriage was 17 years old for girls and 20 years old for boys. However, girls could marry as young as 15 and boys at 18 if authorised by the courts.

This new bill harmonises the legal age of marriage at 18 for both girls and boys. It remains unclear if a judge can still grant exceptions for marriage at the age of 16 in some circumstances.

This amendment marks progress in the advancement of the rights of girls and is the result of years of advocacy by civil society. Girl Not Brides members (the Ending Child Marriage Coalition - CONAMEB), including youth activists and the National Education Coalition, have advocated for change since 2018.

About child marriage in Burkina Faso and our work in West Africa

Burkina Faso has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world, with more than 1 in 2 girls married before the age of 18, and nearly 1 in 10 girls married before the age of 15.[1]

Child marriage and education are closely linked; child marriage limits girls’ access to education, while keeping girls in school is one of the best ways to prevent child marriage. Across West Africa, civil society organisations and education coalitions have strongly advocated for the promotion and prioritisation of education in efforts to address child marriage.

The Education Out Loud (EOL) project collectively addresses the interconnected challenges of child marriage and girls’ limited access to quality education in the region. Earlier this year, child marriage coalitions, national education coalitions, and global and regional partners gathered at the EOL Regional Convening, organised by Girls Not Brides and ANCEFA. This convening culminated in the Grand-Bassam Joint Declaration, a powerful regional commitment to advance gender-transformative education and end child marriage.

Looking ahead

This legislative change represents a vital step forward in addressing child, early, and forced marriage in Burkina Faso. It presents an opportunity to accompany legislative process with comprehensive approaches that address the root causes of child marriage, including gender inequality, poverty, and lack of access to education, and to ensure girls and women can be socially, economically and politically independent – making informed choices about marriage, their bodies, education, and work. Laws must also be accompanied by investment in gender-transformative services and policies to address the root causes of child marriage and ensuring laws truly protect and support girls at risk.

Concerns over broader human rights protections

Whilst recognising progress on legal protection against child marriage, the changes to the Personal and Family Code raise significant concerns around human rights protections in the country. Some provisions directly contravene fundamental rights and principles of equality and inclusion. This underlines the importance of ongoing dialogue and comprehensive reforms that safeguard the dignity, equality, and human rights of all people.