National
13 child marriages stopped in 8 mths in Baitadi
Adolescent girls in Baitadi have succeeded in intervening and stopping 13 cases of would-be child marriages in the district in the past eight months.Rastriya Samachar Samiti
Adolescent girls in Baitadi have succeeded in intervening and stopping 13 cases of would-be child marriages in the district in the past eight months.
With the help of collective efforts of local teenage girls, the District Women and Children Office, Baitadi and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 13 cases relating to early marriages were stopped from taking place in the past eight months, according to Women Development Officer Anita Buda Aeir.
Adolescent Girls’ Circles have been formed in 16 Village Development Committees (VDCs) in the district to fight against child marriage which is common in the district.
UNFPA District Programme Officer Ganesh Shahi said the practice of child marriage is yet to be fully controlled in the district as it is rooted in traditions. Still, he said, it was encouraging to see fewer occurrence of child marriages in the district these days thanks to the joint efforts against the ill-practice.
Child marriage is taking place as a customary practice in the district and it is very challenging to stop it overnight, but the progress made so far has been encouraging, Shahi added.
“Families which have many daughters, are not doing good financially and belong to the Dalit community are more likely to follow the early marriage tradition.”
There are also cases where young girls are found choosing to get married early because they have seen many of their friends and girls of their age doing it.