Young girls taking lead in fight against child marriage

By Vijay Kumar Sah

Dhalkebar, Jan 8 : Committing and causing to commit child marriages is illegal in Nepal and punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of Rs. 30,000. Yet, they continue unabated.

In the districts of Terai, lack of awareness, seeing girls as burden, pressure of dowry and ‘finding a good boy’ are some of the reasons that make parents eager to marry their daughters off before they reach the legal age of 20. 

However, adolescent girls in Sabaila Municipality of Dhansuha want to change this and have collectively pledged to not wed before they reach the minimum marriageable age.

Jyoti Kumari Yadav of Kiratpur, Sabaila–13, said that she would only settle down after she turned 20. The 15-year-old also tells her friends to marry only after completing their studies and becoming self-reliant. 

Yadav, who is also involved in an anti-child marriage campaign, was also able to stop the marriage of one of her underage friends six months ago.

“I heard that the friend was going to get married. So, I told my friends and teachers. The teachers then talked to her father and convinced him to call off the wedding,” Yadav shared. “Not only that, he also agreed to let his daughter study as much as she wanted.”

Yadav credits her education and her educators for instilling this anti-child marriage conviction in her and for helping her understand what marriage is, what responsibilities it entails and the physical problems women can experience by marrying and having children at a young age.

Yadav and other teenagers like her have contributed to decreasing the number of child brides in the municipality, informed women’s rights activist Durga Adhikari of Raghunathpur, Sabaila–12. “It is encouraging to see children themselves take the lead in the drive against child marriage,” she said.

“Young women and men have started raising their voices against the practice and have started talking to their family members,” she added.

Rahima Khatun, deputy mayor of Sabaila Municipality, praised the role adolescent girls were playing in eliminating child marriages. 

Female student networks have been formed in many wards of the municipality to campaign against child marriages. 

“In addition to fighting child marriages, these networks also disrupt marriages taking place against the bride’s wishes,” Khatun informed. 

The District Police Office of Dhanusha has also begun an awareness campaign against child marriages in the district.