You Need To Know About Child Marriage In Nepal

1) CHILD MARRIAGE IS DEEPLY HARMFUL TO GIRLS

The interviews echo what research has shown globally. Married girls usually drop out of school and have babies early, often jeopardising their health and that of their children.

“The doctors told me: your uterus is small; that’s why my baby died”
Partly borne out of poverty, child marriage keeps girls and their families in a cycle of poverty. Married girls are also more likely to be victims of domestic violence. In the words of one child bride: “I used to imagine that life would go by laughing and playing. But now there’s no laughter.”

2) EDUCATION REMAINS A DISTANT DREAM FOR GIRLS AT RISK OF MARRIAGE AND MARRIED GIRLS

Human Rights Watch found that married girls lacked even basic schooling. Families are reluctant to invest in their daughters’ education because the schools are far away, of poor quality, and too expensive. A child bride explains: “Even if the education is free, we have to buy books, pencils, uniforms. Of course it was costly, so we couldn’t afford it.”

3) ADOLESCENTS ARE CHOOSING “LOVE MARRIAGES” TO ESCAPE POVERTY, SOCIAL PRESSURE

Many adolescents described their marriage as one of love, although one driven by dire living situations. Some girls eloped before they were forced into a marriage by their parents. Others looked for a husband who could feed them.

Peer pressure plays a big part in the decision to marry too. One child bride explained that “there were too many rumours so I told him I would marry him.” Sexually active girls who fear pregnancy, or become pregnant, rush into marriages as they see it as the only option to “salvage their future”.

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