Of the total then 26 VDCs in Humla district, Haanku has recorded the highest number of child marriages in the last fiscal year.

At a two-day orientation organised by the District Coordination Committee, Jumla to declare Tatopani and Dillicharu VDC child-friendly VDCs, Committee's senior programme Officer Chetra Bahadur Budhathapa shared that there were 73 cases of child marriage in Haanku VDC.

Marriage below the age of 18 is legally prohibited in Nepal. Although the law sets the minimum age of marriage at 20 for both women and men, almost 40 per cent of girls were recorded married before the age of 18, according to the latest report of the Human Rights Watch.

Although child clubs are set up to steer and stir children for their rights, their inactivity and lack of strict implementation of the laws against this social practice, the cases of child marriage has not come down, instead it is on the rise, added Budhathapa. RSS