<\/a><\/p>\nAdding to the concerns, the April 2015 earthquake raised fears over supposed increase in number of child marriages owing to worsened situation of the public.<\/p>\n
Key findings evaluated from various sources show:<\/strong><\/p>\n\nNepal reports one of the highest rates of child marriages, globally<\/li>\n Average prevalence of child marriage among both sexes at more than 40 percent as a whole, with girls at nearly 50 percent and boys at 30 percent<\/li>\n Parents were the major factors to push for child marriages among nearly 60 percent of female cases and 55 percent of male cases<\/li>\n There are also many cases where children themselves got engaged in \u2018love marriages\u2019 at an early age<\/li>\n There has also been a shift in decision-making patterns from arranged marriages to love marriages, parents to children from parental pressure to love and fulfilment of sexual desire, and rural to rural-urban scenario<\/li>\n A survey of households heads found 32 percent of them saying \u2018parental pressure\u2019 as a leading cause to child marriages, followed by children\u2019s own desire and need for supporting household activities<\/li>\n Early marriages were also attributed to over usage of mobile phone usage and media<\/li>\n Measures to save money to be spent on organizing marriages also contributed to the rise<\/li>\n Disliking among boys (from urban areas) for their first marriages often resulted in second marriages driving the need for child marriages among girls from rural areas<\/li>\n Legal action against parents could control the menace to some extent in some cases, however, it did not work-out in case of children voluntarily engaging in love marriages upon self-interests<\/li>\n Overall, there were hardly any genuine evidences showing child marriages as people avoided to do so owing to fears for legal matters<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nWhat Addresses the Menace?<\/strong> \nConsidering the aforementioned factors, there are few ways that renowned international rights bodies recommend, to stop child marriages. These include:<\/p>\n\nFormation of vigilant groups and community networks with all the concerned stakeholders to check the spread of menace among the socially-marginalized communities, who are reportedly found to be more prone to the situation<\/li>\n Need for spread of awareness among adolescent girls and boys on the ill-effects of getting married earlier<\/li>\n Empowering young girls and boys with appropriate comprehensive sex education at the school level, along with skill-based training<\/li>\n Conducting awareness programs through respective primary health centers at the community levels<\/li>\n Establishment of Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) involving active local participants such as youngsters for a detailed understanding on causes, patterns and impact of child marriages and practices encouraging the same<\/li>\n Programs that encourage school enrolment among girls and follow gender transformative approach should be designed<\/li>\n Strengthening of networks that are combination of communities and related stakeholders from local to national levels<\/li>\n To the next level, linking of local responses against the menace to the global aid organizations that can support the cause<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nSocial and human rights organizations of Nepal feel that the existence of child marriages menace is obstructing the country\u2019s progress in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set by the United Nations.<\/p>\n
Despite the existence of relevant laws that stipulate 20 years as the legal age for marriage for both girls and boys, the Ministry of Health records show nearly 30 percent of girls getting married at 15-17 years of age.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe certainly need to strongly lobby against early marriage, but we are hampered by a very poor monitoring system to implement the existing law. Our biggest challenge is the family\u2019s attitude towards educating their girls,\u201d says Dibya Dawadi<\/span>, Deputy Director-General, Department of Education, Nepal.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nMDGs strongly pitch for few things pertaining to human rights and education. While MDG 2 pitches for universal primary education, MDG 3 finds the significance of promoting gender equality and women empowerment, MDG 4 is deeply concerned about controlling child mortality and MDG 5 calls for improvement of maternal health.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, child marriages work against all these MDGs stopping the sustainable growth of the Nepali citizens.<\/p>\n
Activists feel that the change has to start from touching roots of the problem i.e. addressing unemployment, economic situation, among others forcing families to indulge in anti-social practices like child marriages.<\/p>\n
What Key Associations & Their Leaders Say?<\/strong> \nUnless people are made aware of devastating multi-pronged effects of early marriage, they will not strive to eliminate it from society. People should also be made aware of human rights, so that they are aware of their own rights and the rights of children. Only then will parents be motivated to ensure that their children enjoy their right to childhood – World Plan International<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nChild marriage is a common problem in Nepal’s rural areas. About 50 percent marriages take place before youth turn 18 due to a lack of awareness, poverty and weak enforcement of child marriage legislation. – Plan International<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nWomen living in rural areas are more likely to be married as children those in urban areas. Nepal has one of the highest rates of child marriage in Asia \u2013 for both girls and boys. Although the legal age of unions for both sexes is 20, more than a third of young women aged 20-24 report that they were married by the age of 18, and just over one in ten by 15. – UNICEF<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nChild marriage deprives girls of educational opportunities. However, supply-side issues such as poor access to school, low quality of educational provision, and poor skilled employment prospects, as well as demand side challenges such as concerns over safety and security or the need for unpaid household labor may be important contributing factors to child marriage. Girls may therefore discontinue their education due to a range of factors and then, as they are unable to complete their education, enter into marriage. – A Study based on the Nepal Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2014<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nEarly marriage should be stopped because it not only affects girls\u2019 education but also their health. After marriage, these girls rarely come back to school and even if they do, their performance is very poor. Early marriage negatively impacts their self-confidence. – <\/strong>Sumon Tuladhar<\/strong>, Education Specialist at UNICEF Nepal<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nSticking a mother in jail is not helpful when she may have other young children with no one to feed and protect them. Child marriage is extreme denial of children\u2019s rights. Many girls also suffer from abusive marriages as they are married to older boys. – <\/strong>Helen Sherpa<\/strong> from World Education<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nChild marriage not only discriminates against women and girls in Nepal, it is a violation of their basic human rights. Young brides are pressured to give birth soon after marriage and are susceptible to both domestic and sexual violence\u2014escalating harms that have a profound negative impact on the health, education, employment and dignity of women and girls. The government of Nepal has an immediate obligation to stop child marriage. – <\/strong>Melissa Upreti<\/strong>, Regional Director for Asia, Center for Reproductive Rights<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe government needs to prioritize the implementation of laws prohibiting child marriage in Nepal. We have to guarantee that our women and young girls can exercise their constitutionally protected rights and end this discrimination against them in the name of marriage. – <\/strong>Seikh Chand Tara<\/strong>, Chairperson, National Women Commission <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nOn an End Note \n<\/strong>Hope, continuous efforts by governments in the form of laws and human rights activists supported by global aid agencies will address the long-standing menace of child marriages in Nepal, contributing to the country\u2019s developmental path.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Women are key to the development of any society. This is the fact that has been…<\/span><\/p>\nRead more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":761,"featured_media":10287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1326],"tags":[8511,8505,2329,8515,6134,8509,2559,8514,8508,8510,8507,5253,2994,8512,8506,177,2291,1081,8513,2796],"yoast_head":"\n
Child Marriages in Nepal: A Long-standing Concern Awaiting Eradication!<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n