Ramechhap, January 24 Sunita Thami from Daduwa VDC-3 in Ramechhap had to quit her studies while she was studying in Grade VII. Sunita had to discontinue her studies at the age of 14 after she got married. Sunita’s, however, not just a one-off case. A majority of Thami girls have to quit their studies midway due to age-old tradition of marrying off girls at an early age. “Many girls like me are forced to discontinue their studies midway”, Sunita lamented. Until not long ago, daughters from the Thami community were not even sent to school. But, these days, parents have started sending their daughters to primary schools. Most of them, however, do not study beyond Grade VII. Social worker Tara Bahadur Moktan from Daduwa said Thami girls were deprived of education due to poverty and superstition. Daduwa and Khandadevi are home to people from the Thami community. There are as many as 300 Thami households in Daduwa and 55 in Kahndadevi VDC. The number of Thami children quitting their studies midday due to poverty is also large. There are four primary schools in wards 3,4, 5 and 8 of Daduwa VDC. Hardly ten per cent of children from Thami community study till Grade X.