Himalayan News Service

Nuwakot, May 25

Child marriage is a legal offence in Nepal and both the government as well as non-government organisations have been giving top priority towards generating awareness against this social anomaly.

But despite of all these efforts there are still many places across the country where child marriage is still practiced unabated and not to go far away one can find this custom going on just 15 km south of Kathmandu, in Okharpauwa of Nuwakot district. It may be a surprise to note that this is happens on a big scale every year and that too on Sri Panchami, the day the goddess of learning, Saraswati, is worshipped by school children. Along with news report of the Saraswati Pooja, which usually falls on the first week of the month of Magh in the lunar calendar, this event of mass child marriage has also become an annual feature in many newspapers.

However, such news report has fallen on the deaf ears of the so called child or child-focused organisations present in large numbers in the country and also on the law enforcing agencies who are supposed to discourage such social aberration. As usual, around four dozen children between six to nine years of age, who are unaware of what is happening to their life, are being prepared to tie the knot tomorrow.

Sri Panchami comes as a special occasion for all school children across the country to worship goddess Saraswati and meditate for knowledge but not for these minors of the backward Balami community in Ward no-7 and 8 of Okharpauwa VDC of Nuwakot district.

Children of this age who would otherwise head towards school with the dream of making a bright future are being forced by their parents to get married. Numbering around three hundred, people from this community are pushing their children towards a dark future in spite of being aware of the consequences. We have not been able to stop this custom because of the superstition that we have to give continuity to the age-old customs practiced by our ancestors, says Jagat Bahadur Balami of the community.

The custom is to get children married below ten years of age as a result of which the children from our community are married very early, adds Jagat Bahadur. Children between six to nine years of age from among the about 300 families are paired up and then married collectively at the local Mahalaxmi temple. As we are illiterate we are unaware of the Sayit/Lagan (the auspicious day for marriage) so the marriage is held on Sri Panchami, adds Jagat Bahadur.

Reacting to the query over the continuation of the child marriage system even though it is against the law and unsafe in terms of health and education, Jit Balami, the chairman of Okharpauwa VDC said, “effort are being made to check this problem and we have been successful to bring it down by 30 to 40 per cent.” But we have not been able to abolish it completely due to illiteracy and superstition.