The 12th of August was the International Youth Day, bringing youth issues to the fore and celebrating the potential of youth as partners in today's global society. As partners to Nepal, we work closely with youth from all over the country, and we are always energised by their courage, leadership and wisdom. When given opportunities, young people can move mountains!

But there are many youth and children in Nepal who will not have these opportunities, because they were married too early. Despite being illegal since 1963, child marriage remains a far too common practice. This could be any formal marriage or informal union between a child under the age of 18 years and another child or an adult. While child marriage happens to both girls and boys, the problem is much higher among girls. According to the NDHS 2022, for people aged 20-24 years old, 35 per cent of women and 7 per cent of men were married before turning 18 years old.

While we may think about child marriage as a single issue, the consequences affect many areas, and the negative impacts can last throughout the child's life. Child marriage deprives girls and boys of their rights and is a form of gender-based violence. Married boys take on responsibilities as head of household that they are not ready for – physically, emotionally and mentally. Girls fare even worse – marriage often means an end to their education, as well as early pregnancies for which their bodies are not ready. Married girls are more often victims of gender-based violence. They and their children have higher probabilities of being malnourished, which in turn adversely affects the children's mental and physical development. In addition, they cannot register their marriage, creating hurdles for them to claim their social rights, including registering the births of their children. This diminishes the opportunities for the children of the young couple even before being born.

We have seen lately the increase in self-initiated marriages compared to those arranged by the parents. This is often a coping strategy by the children and youth to have a sense of agency, or a response to pressure from the family in the case of boy-girl friendships, without thinking through their actions. Indeed, most families that choose child marriage, most communities that accept it, most elected leaders that condone it by attending such weddings will claim that they want what is best for the children in their community. Having been married as children themselves, the parents ask 'how can this be so bad?' But child marriage is not only a form of violence, but also a key link in the chain that perpetuates cycles of poverty, inequality and exclusion in the community.

As can be seen, the problem is complex, and therefore solutions have to tackle the different underlying causes, at individual, community, and society's level: addressing poverty, improving knowledge, addressing harmful and discriminatory norms and enforcing legal frameworks, to ensure that we leave no one behind. Rupantaran, which translates to transformation, is such a holistic programme. It is a social and financial skills package developed by the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens with support from UNFPA, UNICEF and other partners. It is based on the idea that empowering adolescents improves their ability to negotiate and influence decisions that concern them. It includes skills on practical life, knowledge on gender equality and human rights (including child marriage), reproductive health, gender-based violence, nutrition, communication, economic empowerment, decision making and negotiation. Adolescents participating in the programme have reported changes mostly in their self-confidence, ability to express themselves clearly, discuss sensitive issues with parents and ability to challenge harmful practices. The programme also targets the parents of the adolescents, helping families understand and challenge gender biases that fuel harmful practices against girls and increase burden on unpaid care and domestic work. Selected students who graduate can also go onto facilitate sessions for junior batches as peer facilitators.

'Child marriage is so common in my area that since I turned 16, I was constantly asked when I was going to get married. There was so much pressure. I almost gave in when I saw this boy I liked, but attending the Rupantaran life-skill package really taught me about my rights and my choices. It also helped me understand and challenge gender biases which can lead to violence and harmful practices for girls. Since then, I have been determined to finish my education, get a job and be economically independent before even thinking about marriage. In the meantime, I now serve as a Peer Facilitator so I can help educate and empower other young girls like me' says Sabitri Magar, 18-year-old Peer Facilitator from Rolpa district of Lumbini. As Rupantaran shows, even with successful programmes, the solution has to be holistic – a family that values children, and especially girls, and listens to their needs; a community that stands up against child marriage, and that supports children so that they are not left behind; a society that empowers and educates its girls.

Child marriage is a direct consequence of gender inequality. The Government of Nepal, the European Union and the United Nations in Nepal have partnered together for 'Empowered Women, Prosperous Nepal', a programme implemented by ILO, UNFPA, UNICEF and UN Women, that seeks to advance gender equality and contribute to the empowerment of women and girls to realise the national vision of a prosperous and happy Nepal (vision 2030). The fouryear programme (2023– 2026) tackles issues like child marriage from multiple levels. We hope that its contribution will make an ever-lasting difference for the youth of Nepal, so that they can reach their full potential and can contribute fully to make their country proud.

Nona Deprez is the Ambassador, Delegation of the European Union to Nepal, and Hanaa Singer-Hamdy is the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Nepal.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 28, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.