First Woman Jeannette Kagame has warned of shifting attitudes in the direction of marriage amongst younger folks, saying fewer are marrying, many are delaying marriage, whereas dedication to the union is more and more seen as non-obligatory.
She stated this on Sunday, September 6, on the Younger Leaders Prayer Breakfast, organised by the Rwanda Leaders Fellowship (RLF) below the theme, “Rwanda begins at house: Elevating secure households in a posh world.”
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The gathering introduced collectively younger leaders to mirror on the function of robust households in shaping accountable management.
“To the younger leaders, attitudes in the direction of marriage itself are shifting. Fewer persons are marrying, many are marrying later, or under no circumstances,” she stated.
“Dedication is more and more seen as an choice, or as one thing to be delayed till each different field is checked, a completed diploma, a secure job, a paid-off mortgage, and many others. And by the point all of the containers are checked, generally within the ready, the need quietly fades.”
She additionally raised issues about relationships amongst younger people who stay in extended levels with out clear dedication.
“There are these levels they name ‘trying’, ‘speaking’, ‘relationship’, ‘unique’ and even ‘open marriage’, every stage getting vaguer and vaguer than the final and every one capable of stretch indefinitely with no obligation hooked up.”
The First Woman additionally spoke about what is known as “situationships”, the place folks interact in short-term relationships with out a clear long-term aim.
She cautioned towards in search of the advantages related to marriage and household life with out embracing the obligations that include them.
“There’s a associated nuance price naming actually: many need the end result with out the covenant behind it, some need kids, however not the every day, glamorous work of parenting that elevating a baby truly requires,” she stated.
She stated kids and spouses in the end bear the results when folks fail to strategy marriage and household life with the seriousness they require.
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The First Woman linked the challenges dealing with marriage to a broader concern concerning the energy of households, saying younger leaders have to develop not solely skilled talents but in addition emotional and relational expertise required to construct wholesome properties.
She famous that Rwanda has more and more entrusted younger folks with obligations throughout authorities, the personal sector and different areas, however questioned whether or not adequate consideration had been given to character, feelings and relationships.
“However might these even be gaps which have been neglected? May it’s that now we have paid consideration to intelligence and skill, however haven’t given sufficient time to growing our character, feelings and relationships, that are additionally essential for somebody to grow to be a superb chief, whether or not at house or at work?”
The First Woman urged younger leaders to see household stability as a part of their accountability to the nation, arguing that robust households present a basis for the following technology.
“Rwanda begins at house,” she stated.
She additionally urged {couples} to concentrate to on a regular basis habits that may progressively harm relationships, saying relationships typically deteriorate via repeated actions relatively than a single main incident.
“The silent remedy, the withdrawal, the refusal to have interaction will be simply as weaponised as a harsh phrase. A house can look peaceable on the surface whereas beneath that silence is doing actual harm to intimacy and belief,” she stated.
The First Woman stated religion ought to present a shared basis for {couples} as they navigate disagreements and challenges.
Household battle
Monique Mukamana, who leads baby safety and care reform on the Nationwide Youngster Improvement Company (NCDA), famous that household battle is among the many main problem affecting kids and contributing issue to divorce.
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Citing Judiciary knowledge, Mukamana stated 6,799 divorce circumstances had been recorded throughout all ranges of courts in 2025, together with 5,980 circumstances on the first-instance court docket degree.
“One of many points that conflicts in households deliver is violence towards kids. As a result of mother and father are preoccupied with their conflicts, nobody pays sufficient consideration to the kid, and the kid finally ends up struggling,” she stated.
She stated such experiences may have an effect on kids’s capacity to construct wholesome households of their grownup life.
Pastor James Muyango drew on Matthew 7:24-26, which is about Jesus's parable of the clever man who constructed his home on rock and the silly who constructed his house on sand.
Muyango stated the passage underscores the significance of constructing households on a robust basis that permits them to face up to life’s challenges.
