Sangita Bayak of ward 5 in Chaukune Rural Municipality in Surkhet district, studies in Grade 5 at a community school. Her younger sisters, 10-year-old Tulsi and eight-year-old Rabina, are also in school.

Their childhood, however, has been marked by hardship from an early age. Their father died when they were young, and their mother later remarried, leaving the three sisters behind. They are now being raised by their aunt, Pushpa Bayak.

Although Pushpa managed to provide them with food and shelter, she constantly worried about whether she could afford to keep all three girls in school.

“I used to wonder how I would raise them and pay for their education,” she said. “The municipality’s special programme for girls has brought us enormous relief.”

Under the scheme, the local government deposited money into fixed-term bank accounts opened in each girl’s name. The funds cannot be withdrawn until they turn 20, and only if they have not married before the legal age of 20. Girls who leave school or enter child marriage also lose access to money.

In the meantime, the annual interest earned on the deposits helps cover school expenses, including books and educational materials.

The initiative is one of several being implemented across Nepal’s Karnali Province to protect girls facing extreme social and economic vulnerability.

In Dailekh district, 14-year-old Mina BK, a Grade 8 student at Basanta Secondary School in Narayan Municipality, has also joined the programme.

Mina lost her mother when she was just six months old. Her father died when she was two. She has since been raised by her aunt, Durga.

“I have raised her since she was a child, and I want her to continue studying,” Durga said. “But school expenses keep increasing. This programme gives us hope.”

Mina dreams of becoming a teacher after completing higher education.

According to Kham Bahadur Thapa, head of the Economic and Social Development Section at Narayan Municipality, the programme targets girls who face multiple forms of vulnerability.

Eligible beneficiaries include girls abandoned in hospitals or public places, orphaned children, girls whose parents are missing or cannot be identified, children whose parents are unable to care for them because of severe physical or mental disabilities, girls living in prison with incarcerated parents, and children born from rape or incest when their guardians are unable to provide care.

The programme also prioritises girls who have lost one or both parents in disasters, those whose parents have gone missing, girls with disabilities, and girls from poor Dalit, Indigenous and other highly marginalised communities.

“We have selected 33 girls in the first phase and deposited money into their accounts,” Thapa said. “The programme has proven highly effective in protecting vulnerable school-age girls. It gives them a pathway to higher education while also serving as an effective measure against child marriage.”

He said the municipality had adopted clear operational guidelines that allow the scheme to function without placing an unsustainable financial burden on local governments.

Girls such as Mina, Sangita, Tulsi, Rabina and Ashika are among the first beneficiaries. Officials hope the programme will open the door to higher education for thousands of girls living in extreme poverty while reducing school dropout rates and child marriage.

Many girls in Karnali still struggle to access education because of poverty, family hardship and social discrimination. Even those who enrol often leave school early and are pushed into child marriage.

To address those challenges, Narayan Municipality, Dullu Municipality in Dailekh and Chaukune Rural Municipality in Surkhet have launched the Special Support Programme for Girls.

Under the scheme, each eligible girl receives a one-time deposit of Rs30,000 into a bank account.

The programme is being piloted under the “Empowered Women, Prosperous Nepal” initiative. Municipalities have adopted dedicated operational guidelines covering orphaned girls aged between five and 18 whose parents have both died or whose surviving parent is absent, leaving them to live independently or under the care of siblings.

Uma Upadhyaya, Women Development Inspector at Dullu Municipality, said 64 girls have already been enrolled.

“This programme was not introduced merely for publicity,” she said. “It is designed to support girls who are most likely to be excluded from education. It can reduce school dropout rates and become a strategic tool for preventing child marriage.”

She said the municipality plans to expand the programme next year while refining its guidelines to improve transparency, better target eligible beneficiaries and ensure it remains financially sustainable.

Chaukune Rural Municipality has enrolled 56 girls in the first phase and transferred the funds into their accounts.

Chief Administrative Officer Purna BK said local governments have a responsibility to act as guardians for children at risk.

“If this programme is managed properly, it will deliver significant long-term benefits,” he said.

Karnali Province had previously introduced a programme called “A Bank Account for Every Daughter, Security for Life,” but the pilot initiative was later discontinued.

Stakeholders say transforming that scheme into the current Special Support Programme for Girls could become an effective long-term strategy to reduce gender discrimination against girls from poor families, guarantee access to higher education and curb child marriage.