Child marriage persists in Nepal

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Aug. 23: Although the law prohibits marriage before the age of 20, Nepal stands second in South Asia in terms of child marriage.

According to the National Census 2021 Data on Children, 74,272 people get married between the ages of 10 and 17. 

According to the data, people aged between 20 and 24 years were asked at what age they got married. A total of 14.1 per cent of the respondents said that they got married before the age of 18. It shows that one in five girls gets married before the age of 18.

Various experts participated in the discussion organised by the Children as Zone of Peace (CZOP) National Campaign in collaboration with Save the Children and Plan International on the efforts made to end child marriage and the upcoming plans. The experts forecast that if this trend of child marriage continued it could be dangerous.

Presenting a paper on the programme, Nawa Raj Sapkota, Joint Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, said that despite initiatives from national and international organisations, child marriage still exists in Nepal. 

Parents commit a serious violation of human rights, forcing their children to marry at an early age.

Ram Bahadur Chand of the National Child Rights Council said that marriage between 18 and 20 years should be highly discouraged. Similarly, Deepak Dhakal, Under Secretary at the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens said that with the decrease in the birth rate, the share of children's population as per the 2021 census is 29.4 per cent, and this decline indicates that the number of youths in the future too will decline. He further added that although local governments are working to curb child marriage, girls are still being married off at a very early age.

Mahendra Parajuli, Deputy Director General of the Centre for Education and Human Resource Development, said, "Teachers of community schools are not given adequate training opportunities. 

After federalism, the training centers were reduced to seven. The bond between the community and school has fallen. It would be great if child-friendly schools could be developed." 

Mina Sharma, President of the CZOP National Campaign, said that child marriage in Karnali Province is very high. The concerted effort of government and non-government organisations is equally important to raise awareness about the disadvantages of child marriage, she said.