Child marriage in Karnali putting health of mothers, babies in peril

BY MUNA HAMAL,Surkhet, Dec. 9: As many as 17 pregnant women died in Karnali Province due to complications during the time of delivery in the fiscal year 2021/22. 

Among them, five were aged under 20. Getting married early which is still prevalent in the province, young mothers are risking their lives as well as their babies.  

Kavita Khatri, a community nursing officer of the Public Health Branch under the Ministry of Social Development of the province, said that the health of adolescent girls has been adversely affected by child marriage.  “If you look at the data of maternal deaths in Karnali, it is scary,” she said. 

Maternal and infant mortality in Karnali has not been reduced due to early marriage. Women are having complications not only at the time of delivery but also after delivery. 

According to the law, marriage should be done after reaching the age of 20. Although the campaigns have been conducted by the governmental and non-governmental organisations to prevent child marriage, it seems little has been achieved. As per the government data, 52 per cent of child marriages in the country happen in the province. 

The province has seen a rise in the cases of child marriage is recent years due to poverty, illiteracy and misuse of social media, among other factors. Public awareness programmes have done little to lower that. The ill practice is taking place in secret, even with the consent of parents.  

In Karnali, the number of young mothers is high. If we look at the data of the last three years, there has been no decrease in the number of young mothers.

Data shows that during that period there were a total of 16,701 pregnant women who were under 20 years of age. 

According to Provincial Health Services Directorate, there were 5, 328 pregnant women aged under 20 in the financial year 2019/20, 6,020 in 2020/21 and 5,353 in 2021/22.  According to Khatri, early marriage has put the health of both mother and children at grave risk.                                                                                            

What is even more worrisome, she said, is that only a few complaints about child marriages are lodged at the police: Only 37 cases have been registered in a period of two and a half years. A total of 11 cases were registered in the year 2019/20, 20 cases in 2020/21 and six cases in 2021/22.

Rachna Sunar, a campaigner against child marriage, said that most cases of child marriage take place in secret. She said that due to child marriage, many marriages are not registered, nor are children’s births. Women getting married early are also more likely to be subjected to domestic violence, she added.

She said that along with campaign to reduce child marriage, parents should play a prominent role in stopping it. 

Anita Gyawali, head of Social Security and Women’s Development Division, said that preparations were being made to make a strategic plan to reduce child marriage in Karnali.

She said that to reduce child marriage, the province government has conducted awareness programmes such as bank account protection for daughters, life-long security programmes and other scholarships.