Forced Marriage Overseas: Burkina Faso
Overview
Individuals from the United States may face challenges if trying to avoid and/or escape forced marriages in Burkina Faso. General discrimination against women remains high and while the law offers some protections for women and girls, gender based violence – including rape and domestic violence – occurs at high rates throughout the country. In certain regions, early and forced marriage situations are not uncommon, with few remedies for victims. According to a UNDP’s Gender Related Development Index, Burkina Faso is considered to be one of the countries with the highest degree of inequality between women and men.1
For further information and guidance for individuals from the U.S. that are facing or fleeing a forced marriage in Burkina Faso please contact the Forced Marriage Initiative.
Marriage in Burkina Faso
The main statutory law governing marriage in Burkina Faso is the Burkina Faso Family Code, which recognizes civil marriage as the only legally valid and binding form of marriage in the country.2 However, other types of marriage exist, even though they are not legally binding, such as traditional marriages and religious marriages, which offer little or no protection to women. In some cases, particularly in the urban areas, these types of marriages may overlap.3 Often, the traditional marriage ceremony is performed first followed by religious and civil marriage ceremonies.4 Often, the traditional marriage ceremony iCivil marriages are by far the least common form of marriage in Burkina Faso, since the majority of the population lives in rural areas where traditional or religious marriages are more commonly practiced. s performed first followed by religious and civil marriage ceremonies.5
The Family Code sets the legal age of consent for marriage at 20 years for boys and 17 years for girls.6 However, the civil courts have the power to grant consent and approve a marriage of a male between ages 18 and 20 and a female between the ages 15 and 177 and contrary to the provisions of the Burkina Faso Family Code, a girl as young as 10 or 12 can be married in Burkinabe traditional practices.8
Within the context of civil marriages between members of opposite sexes, there do not appear to be any significant differences with respect to gender, however, there are significant gender differences in the rights of men and women when marrying in Burkinabe traditional practices. Although both men and women are under pressure to be married, women do not have the right to choose their own husband. Traditional marriages are arranged by the eldest males from each spouses’ family, with the aim of fostering relationships between the two descent groups and carrying on the lineage of the husband’s family.9
Although forced and child marriages are prohibited by Burkinabe law, these marriages still persist with grave consequences for the girls and their families, primarily due to traditional and religious practices and beliefs. Under traditional Burkinabe law, girls are encouraged to be married before the legal age of 1710 and contrary to the Burkina Faso Family Code, girls of age 10 can be married with respect to Muslim marriages11 and 12 under traditional law practices.12
Under the Burkina Faso Family Code, an individual may be granted an annulment of his or her civil marriage on several grounds, including fraud, age or lack of consent.13 Marriages that have not been celebrated in front of a civil office – such as traditional or religious marriages – or for which a substantial formality is missing, can also be voided.14 Either spouse, regardless of gender, can legally file for an annulment on the grounds listed above.15 However, the marriage cannot be voided on these grounds if six months have passed since the last violent incident or since the fraud was discovered and the married couple has been living together continuously.16
Divorce is also an option available to both spouses, and lack of consent, fraud, and force could constitute grounds for a contested legal divorce to dissolve a civil marriage.17
For customary or traditional marriage, grounds for divorce and annulment vary among religions and customs of the various ethnic groups. In general under customary practices, divorce is possible but difficult and such cases would be adjudged in the customary or village courts which are often unfavorable to women.18
Potential Risks and Protections in Country
Forced and child marriages persist in Burkina Faso, largely due to traditional and familial practices and beliefs. Traditional law permits and encourages girls to get married before attaining the legal marriage age of 1719 and almost 50 percent of girls were married before age 18.20 Early and forced marriages are common in poor, rural areas and are particularly high in the sahel region, where it is not uncommon for girls of ages 12 or 13 to be married.21
In 1990, the government enacted the Personal and Family Code or “Code des Personnes et de la Famille” with the aim of protecting women’s rights in the country. The code prohibits forced and child marriages and confers rights benefitting women, including the right to consent to marriage, and the right to divorce.22 It also provides for equality between children regardless of sex and the Penal Code criminalizes child marriage. Unfortunately, there is significant disconnect between the progressive laws of the country and the daily realities of its people, particularly in rural areas. Many Burkinabe people are unaware of the legal rights afforded to them and those rights are often disregarded in favor of harmful and discriminatory traditional practices.23
The Burkina Faso Family Code expressly prohibits forced marriage, and imposes a penalty from two months to two years of imprisonment and penalties increase if the victim is under 13 years of age. Any individual who arranged or promoted such a marriage would be subject to the same penalty, and forced marriages, especially those imposed by families and marriages imposed by customs and tradition – such as the obligation for a widow to marry another member of her dead husband’s family – are technically considered void.24 It is unknown if there have been any successful enforcement actions related to forced marriages and again, laws set out by the Family and Penal code are often superseded by traditional practices and beliefs. This problem is exacerbated by law enforcers who see domestic violence as private and unimportant.
While the Constitution of Burkina Faso states that all citizens of Burkina Faso are equal no law specifically protects women from domestic violence. Cases of domestic violence are typically handled out of court unless the victims were severely injured and victims seldom pursue legal action due to shame, fear, or reluctance to take their spouses to court. There are no government-run shelters in the country for victims of domestic violence, but there are counseling centers in each of the 13 regional “Maison de la Femme” centers25 and the Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity has a toll free number to enable persons to report cases of violence against children anonymously, though call numbers have been low26 and follow up actions are unclear.
Special Challenges in Returning to the United States
There are no legal restrictions for women leaving Burkina Faso. The constitution grants men and women equal rights and status and provides for freedom of movement and foreign travel. In practice, however, it may be difficult for a married Burkinabe woman to leave the country without the permission of her husband. While there are no additional requirements for leaving with children or while pregnant, if a divorced Burkinabe woman does not have sole custody of her children, she may run into problems while attempting to leave the country.
Individuals should always check the exit requirements for Burkina Faso for the most up to date information.
Assistance for Individuals from the United States
- The Tahirih Justice Center Forced Marriage Initiative
We are available to help individuals from the United States who are facing or fleeing forced marriage in Burkina Faso, including providing phone, text, and email support, connecting with the U.S. government and local resources, and coordinating shelter and services back in the United States.
- The U.S. State Department
We are available to help individuals from the United States who are facing or fleeing forced marriage in Burkina Faso, including providing phone, text, and email support, connecting with the U.S. government and local resources, and coordinating shelter and services back in the United States.
- U.S. Embassy in Ouagadougou
Contact the embassy in the case of an emergency.
Tel: (+226) 25-49-53-00
Email: Consularouaga@state.gov
REFERENCES
1 US Dept. of State Country Report, Burkina Faso, (2016) available at https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2016&dlid=265228
2 ibid
3 Thomas K. LeGrand, Consensual Unions in Burkina Faso: Trends and Determinants, (2009), available at http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/csp/article/view/16016
4 Culture Grams Word Edition – Burkina Faso, (2014), available at http://www.sjusd.org/leland/teachers/sgillis/geog/africa/culture_gram/Burkina_Faso.pdf
5 Thomas K. LeGrand, Consensual Unions in Burkina Faso: Trends and Determinants, (2009), available at http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/csp/article/view/16016
6 Burkina Faso Personal and Family Code, Article 238
7 ibid, Article 239
8 IRIN Africa, Burkina Faso: Child marriage worsens population pressure (2009). See also Sudan’s Personal Law of Muslim of 1991, which arguably aligns with the basic tenets of Sharia law and practices that may be applicable in Burkina Faso. See also Salmmah Women’s Resource Centre/Khartoum’s Sudan Report, available at http://www.musawah.org/sites/default/files/Sudan-report-EN%20for%20Home%20Truths.pdf
9 Sigrun Helmfri, Towards Gender Equality in Burkina Faso, (2004) available at http://www.sida.se/contentassets/2a5008bc2f3c4a11ad797d56602745de/towards-gender-equality-in-burkina-faso_422.pdf
10 Sigrun Helmfri, Towards Gender Equality in Burkina Faso, (2004); also Countries and Their Cultures, Culture of Burkina Faso, UN Trust Fund for Human Security, Eliminating child marriage in Burkina Faso: A Plan for protection, available at http://www.un.org/humansecurity/sites/www.un.org.humansecurity/files/burkina_faso_summary.pdf
11 Salmmah Women’s Resource Centre/Khartoum’s Sudan Report on Sudan’s Personal Law of Muslims
12 IRIN Africa, Burkina Faso: Child marriage worsens population pressure (2009). See also Sudan’s Personal Law of Muslim of 1991, which arguably aligns with the basic tenets of Sharia law and practices that may be applicable in Burkina Faso; also Salmmah Women’s Resource Centre/Khartoum’s Sudan Report, available at http://www.musawah.org/sites/default/files/Sudan-report-EN%20for%20Home%20Truths.pdf
13 Burkina Faso Personal and Family Code, Article 281
14 ibid, Article 282
15 ibid, Article 283
16 ibid, Article 284
17 ibid, Article 367
18 Culture Grams Word Edition – Burkina Faso, (2014), at P.6
19 UN Trust Fund for Human Security, Eliminating child marriage in Burkina Faso: A Plan for protection, empowerment and community action, available at http://www.un.org/humansecurity/sites/www.un.org.humansecurity/files/burkina_faso_summary.pdf
20 US Dept. of State Country Report, Burkina Faso, (2016) available at https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2016&dlid=265228
21 IRIN Africa, Burkina Faso: Child marriage worsens population pressure, (2009), available at http://www.irinnews.org/report/83505/burkina-faso-child-marriage-worsens-population-pressure
22 Home Truths: A Global Report on Equality in the Muslim Family: BURKINA FASO, available at http://www.musawah.org/sites/default/files/BurkinaFaso-Home%20Truths-EN.pdf
23 Social Institutions and Gender Index: Country – Burkina Faso, (2014) available at http://www.genderindex.org/country/burkina-faso/
24 Burkina Faso Personal and Family Code, Article 234
25 US Dept. of State Country Report, Burkina Faso, (2016) available at https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2016&dlid=265228
26 ibid., at pg. 20
