Marriage age should be kept at 20, demands Dhanusha girls

By Dharbendra Jha,Janakpurdham, Jan. 25: The girls of Dhanusha submitted a memorandum letter to the Madhes Province Minister for Sports and Social Welfare Pramod Jaiswal at the Minister’s office on Thursday, demanding that the legal age of marriage should be kept at 20 years.  

The Sub-Committee formed by the Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives suggested reducing the age of marriage from 20 years to 18 years during the meeting held on January 13. However, in line with sub-section 70 (Gha) of the National Civil (Code) Act, 2074 BS, the person must reach the age of 20 before they can legally marry.

Girls working against child marriage through the Girls Champion Network, Girls First Fund, Life Nepal and other organisations have submitted a memorandum to Minister Jaiswal against the suggestion of the House of Representatives. 

They said the legal age of marriage has been fixed at 20 years based on study, research and scientific facts. However, it was unfortunate that the debate comes from the law-makers to reduce marriage the age to 18 years from 20 years. 

They further said that addressing the education of girls, reproductive health, mental and physical maturity, dignified family or social life, child rights and the rights of adolescents, the age of marriage in Nepal has been fixed at 20 years legally.

Receiving the memorandum letter, Minister Jaiswal, said that the government's set age limit is also one of the reasons for the increase in child marriage in society. He explained that the proposal to lower the legal marriage age stems from significant societal issues. He assured that the issues raised by the girls would be addressed by the higher levels.

The demands raised by the girls from the point of view of health and education were justified, he stressed the need to make parents aware of this issue. 

The team was led by Bimala Rai, Secretary of the Girls Champion Network and included participation from Surayat Thakur, President of Life Nepal.