The government of Burundi has given unmarried couples December 2017 deadline to legalise their relationships through the church or state registries.
Read also: Govt. forcing unwed couples to marry in Burundi
Al Jazeera reports that President Pierre Nkurunziza had in May signed a new law, which according his government will help in protecting women and create a more moral society, a position disagreed with shapely.
The government says a legal document recognising a marriage helps protect women and their children, especially when it comes to issues such as inheritance.
However, others say the new marriage law infringes on people’s religious beliefs, customs and practices.
The Interior ministry spokesman, Terence Ntahiraja, told the AFP news agency that Burundi was facing a population explosion, which he blamed on “illegal marriages”, polygamy, bigamy and “hundreds of schoolgirls getting pregnant”.
He said church and state-sanctioned weddings were the solution and were a patriotic duty.
