Nepal has been positioned third in early child marriage in Asia as per a study conducted by UNICEF.
The report was recited on the occasion of the ‘International Day of The Girl Child 2022’, organized by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Sancharika Samuha, and the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens.
According to the data from UNICEF, 37% of girls in Nepal marry before age 18 and 10% are married by age 15, though the minimum age of marriage under Nepali law is 20 years of age. Boys also often marry young in Nepal, though in lower numbers than girls.
UNICEF data indicates that Nepal has the third highest rate of child marriage in Asia, after Bangladesh and India.
Won Young Hong, a country representative of the UNFPA, said, “Until and unless we work on ending child marriage in the country, the proper child development and child rights will not be ensured to them.”
“Nepal needs to improve multi-dimensional aspects such as education, health, child marriage, sexual violence, and child labour,” said Hong.
Secretary of the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens, Yama Lal Bhusal, said that the situation of girl children is vulnerable in Nepal and financial condition, geography, topography, lack of education, and disadvantaged background adds their being at risk.
Ananda Tamang, Director of Center for Research on Environment, Health and Population Activities (CREHPA), said that the changing ‘total fertility rate’ in the country, preference for a male child, and easy access to technology are the leading reasons behind the increased sex ratio at birth.
He said that there has been an increased gap in the sex ratio and is expected to rise in the future. It is because many parents are not willing to give birth to many children, with this, they prefer a son as the firstborn.
The child marriage rate of both girl child and boy child is highly prevalent in Nepal.
