Campaign against child marriages pays

By Vijay Kumar Sah  Dhalkebar, July 9: Cases of child marriages have fallen sharply in Sabaila Municipality in Dhanusha district as a result of mothers and teenagers playing an active role in preventing them.

Girls' networks and mothers' groups have been established in each ward of the municipality in an effort to reduce child marriage throughout the municipality. 

They remind the parents and the youngsters when they learn that a child marriage is about to occur. 

In addition, teenagers are made aware about legal issues on child marriage by gathering them at schools and toll plazas. 

Aasman Nepal has formed a girl's network and a mothers' group in all 13 wards of the municipality under the Child Marriage Reduction Project. The group has been working to reduce child marriage as well as to get out-of-school children to school.

Although they do not have official figures on how many child marriages have been stopped, he says many child marriages have been prevented.

Rabita Kumari Yadav of Sabaila Municipality-11 said that the incidence of child marriage has decreased by 80 per cent in the municipality. 

She said that child marriage, which was prevalent among the poor, Dalit, and Muslim communities, has not been eradicated.

Lack of awareness as well as deeply-held religious superstitions have made it difficult  to eradicate the practice of child marriage.  

Ravita, who is also an employee of the 'Nick Education Day' project, said that the situation is gradually improving.

Durga Adhikari, coordinator of the Child Marriage Reduction Project, said that the rate of child marriage has come down as the student network and mothers' group, which are active in preventing child marriage, have been making girls and their parents aware about marriage registration, childbirth, and health problems that might arise because of child marriage.

She said that child marriage would rob them of education, adversely affect the health of the under-age mothers, as well as the relationship might be short-lived or end up in suffering. 

Rahima Khatun, deputy chief of the municipality, said that reducing child marriage was a challenge and added that the efforts of the student network and mothers' group were succeeding. She said that they have worked to raise awareness about the risk involved in child marriage through door-to-door campaigns.