High incidence rate of child marriage in nepal among south asian. Although child marriage has declined by 25% from 41. Jul 24, 2014 child marriage, a social crime reporting still in nepal at the rate of 2 among of three child. Ending child marriage report save the children usa. According to unicef, 37 percent of girls in nepal marry before age 18. Protection of children from violencechild protection. While legal age for marriage in nepal is 18 for girls and 20 for boys, 1 in 3 girls get married before that age. This report documents the economic and social pressures that lead to child marriage, and the devastating consequences of those marriages. Child marriage awareness in nepal plain talk book marketing. Save the children nepal team has been crusading on child marriage campaigns for the past 6 years.
Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that women and girls are somehow inferior to men and boys. According to the 2014 zdhs, child marriage affects more girls than boys child marriage in zambia. Use and build the data and evidence on what works to end child marriage. Despite all these instruments and the general consensus, in nepal early marriage remains a persistent problem that affects children, especially girls, on an. Child marriage in nepal world vision international. On december 16, mallarani rural municipalitys ward number three was declared as child marriage free, making it the first ward to do so in pyuthan district. Child spouses in 2001, exploring both the reasons behind the perpetuation of child marriage and its harmful impact. Marriage should be a time for celebration and joy unless you are one of the 64 million girls around the world forced into marriage before the age of 18. Child marriage threatens girls futures human rights. Nepals marriage law stipulates 20 years as the legal age for marriage for both sexes, but current records. The causes, consequences and solutions to forced child marriage.
A major challenge minh cong nguyen and quentin wodon. According to unicef, nepal has the 17th highest prevalence rate of child marriage in the world and the 17th highest absolute number of child brides 587,000. Nepal has one of the highest rates of child marriage in asia. House of representatives human rights commissions human rights commission. Summary thirtyseven percent of girls in nepal marry before age 18 and 10 percent are married by age 15, in spite of the fact that the minimum. Jan 27, 2014 the united nations has rated nepal among top 10 countries in the world that practice child marriage. The core provisions of the prohibition of child marriage act, 2006 are as follows. Nepal has made important progress over the past few years to promote equality, but the country still has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world.
Durga has been a widow for 54 years and is still in mourning in accordance with hindu religious culture. Child marriage also occurs in parts of the middle east, including yemen and the rural maghreb. Focus shall be put on child marriage in general exemplified in particular by two countries in. Pdf early marriage and early motherhood in nepal researchgate. Many factors interact to place a child at risk of marriage, including poverty, the perception that marriage will provide protection, family honor, social norms, customary or religious laws that condone the practice, an inadequate legislative framework and the state of a countrys civil registration system. Despite being prohibited by international law, it continues to rob millions of girls under 18 around the world of their childhood. Dec 29, 2017 on december 16, mallarani rural municipalitys ward number three was declared as child marriage free, making it the first ward to do so in pyuthan district. Delayed consummation of marriage is common among very young brides, especially in rural areas. Aiming for zero child marriage nepal save the children. Kiran devi jaiswal, a local of simrangarh in bara district, gave birth to eight girls in the hopes of having a boy.
Although nepal was the only south asian country with a high prevalence of child marriage to cosponsor the first human rights council resolution on child marriage in 20,16 since then it has failed to support any subsequent child marriage resolutions by the. How useful are the demographic surveys in explaining the determinants of early marriage of girls in the. Marriage before the age of 18 is a fundamental violation of human rights. The united nations has rated nepal among top 10 countries in the world that practice child marriage.
This is in part because child marriage remains highly prevalent despite efforts by many developing country. In niger, for instance, 77 per cent of women aged 20 to 49 were married before age 18 in contrast to 5 per cent of men in the same age group. This is in part because child marriage remains highly prevalent despite efforts by. In despite of all attention drawn to child marriage across the world, there is a lack of improvement. Illegal child marriages flourish in nepal, stealing youths.
Child marriage refers to the marriage of a child younger than 18 years old,1 in accordance to article 1 of the convention on the right of the child. Each day, approximately 37,000 girls under age 18 are married. Child marriage is a global problem which affects millions across the world but especially girls in south asia. It is considered a human rights violation because it deprives those involved, especially girls, of education and health services, the chance to learn skills and develop their personalities, and leaves them vulnerable. Child marriage is still a massive problem in many developing countries. Most will be in subsaharan africa and the asian subcontinent nepal, india, pakistan, bangladesh. Child marriage as a health issue nepal case study ohchr. In the course of a relationship that can last up to seven or eight decades, many things happen. Child marriage unfpa united nations population fund. Yet investments to end the practice are limited, and. Melissa upreti, regional director for asia, sonali regmi, regional manager for asia, and purna shrestha, senior legal adviser for asia, conceptualized the policy. Child marriage as a health issue nepal case study aleksandra perczynska, her turn program coordinator. Even in countries where child marriage is less common, the same gender differences are found.
Child marriage defies laws in nepal inter press service. In 2014, a survey conducted by district child welfare board showed that the municipality had 60% child marriage which had now come down to 4 % children under the age of 18. A 2012 ngo study found that 34 percent of boys marry before age 19. Child, early, and forced marriage globally, the rate of child marriage is declining,8 but the rate of progress is not fast enough. Until this study was conducted, there was no uptodate, nationallevel information or data. The issue is more concentrated in countries of sub saharan africa and south asia. Mar 07, 20 child marriage is a global problem which affects millions across the world but especially girls in south asia. South asia has some of the highest rates of child marriage in the world, with more than one third of all child marriages that occur globally occurring in the region 5. Marriage is the process by which two people make their public, official and permanent relationship. Early marriage is a violation of childrens human rights. Child marriage is illegal in nepal, yet the impoverished himalayan nation has failed to put in place policies to curb the practice with almost 40 percent of girls married before the age of 18, a. Child marriage is a marriage or similar union, formal or informal, between an adult and a child or another child under age eighteen. In nepal, both girls and boys are at risk of child marriage, although girls are more likely to be married as children.
The issue of child marriage is getting renewed attention among policy makers. Nepal has the thirdhighest rate of child marriage in asia. Child marriage, a social crime reporting still in nepal at the rate of 2 among of three child. The the causes, consequences and solutions to causes, consequences and solutions tocauses, consequences and solutions to forced forced forced child marriage child marriage child marriage in the developing worldin the developing world testimony submitted to u. Kathmandu, oct 11 2012 ips social activists in nepal agree that the one reason why this impoverished country will miss the genderlinked millennium development goals mdgs of the united nations is the persistence of child marriage. Changes in prevalence of girl child marriage in south asia. Sep 08, 2016 child marriage has been illegal in nepal since 1963, but human rights watch found that police rarely act to prevent a child marriage or bring charges, and almost never do so unless a complaint is. Child marriage in nepal and how it can ruin a child s life for ever. The legal age for marriage in india is eighteen for girls and twentyone for boys,20 on the lines of what was mentioned in the child marriage restraint act of 1929. Ending impunity for child marriage in nepal unfpa nepal. It is mostly in south asia, africa, and latin america.
The elimination of child marriage by 2030 is a target under the sustainable development goals sdgs. Child marriage is widely considered as a violation of. In niger, for example, 77% of women in their early 20s were married as children. Read the following text about child marriage in nepal, and decide if statements 1 to 6 are true or false. It is the union of two people in a bond that supposedly lasts until death, but in practice, it is often interrupted by divorce. Existing laws against child marriage should be enforced, especially when girls at risk of child marriage, or who are already married, seek protection and justice. Child marriage impedes girls education the education a girl receives is the strongest predictor of the age she will marry, according to icrw analysis in 18 of the 20 countries with the highest prevalence of child marriage.
A 2017 world bank study estimates that ending child marriage in nepal could see a 12. The causes, consequences and solutions to forced child. Child marriage has been illegal in nepal since 1963, but human rights watch found that police rarely act to prevent a child marriage or bring charges, and almost never do so unless a. Daniel coyle early marriage as a main health challenge related to children in nepal child marriage is recognized globally as a public health problem and it has been reflected in many international legal instruments. Are there countryspecific drivers of child marriage in this country. In simple terms, child marriage is the marriage of a person aged before majority.
Girl child marriage ie, child marriage, and the devastating consequences of those marriages. Effect of child marriage on girls school dropout in nepal. The object of this research is to look into under what circumstances child marriage does exist and how girls living conditions can be improved. The digest provides guidelines towards ending the practice of child marriage through changing attitudes within families and societies, expanding opportunities for education, offering appropriate support to. Collection i abstract this paper deals with the topic of child marriage which is perceived as a harmful traditional practice, directly threatens the rights to education and health as well as personal development and.
Effect of child marriage on girls school dropout in nepal plos. Girls most at risk each dot represents a country in every region, the poor are most at risk of child marriage percentage of women aged 20 to 49 years who were married or in union before age 18, by place of residence child marriage is most common in rural areas 100 80. Child marriage statistics show child brides have a diminished chance of completing their education and are at a higher risk of being physically abused, contracting hiv and other diseases, and dying while pregnant or giving. Early marriage denies girls their right to make vital. Early marriage denies girls their right to make vital decisions about their sexual health and wellbeing. The incidence of child marriage is not only in nepal but also in the world. The government of nepal has signed many international instruments designed to tackle this problem and has passed a law forbidding child marriage but has found it difficult to eradicate the phenomenon due to weak enforcement and low levels of awareness.
864 1282 401 716 262 407 313 526 837 726 400 275 896 756 710 1323 369 235 502 338 1199 65 372 878 82 144 351 561 276 476 92 117 425 876 130 1324 219 85 1400 569 1141 955 1195 51 944