Kathmandu, March 29
All tiers of government must cooperate and coordinate to achieve the government's goal of eradicating child marriage by 2030.
The suggestions were made by participants of the programme organised to alleviate child marriage in Janakpurdham jointly organised by the Ministry of Women, Children, Youth and Sports of Madhes Province Government and Life Nepal today. They suggested that even though policies and laws had been created to eradicate child marriage, coordination and cooperation between all levels of government was necessary for its effective implementation.
Vice-president of Policy and Planning Commission Madhes Province, Nathu Prasad Chaudhary said Nepal ranks third in Asia in terms of child marriage. He stressed the need to raise awareness to abolish it. "Out of seven provinces, Madhes and Karnali provinces have the highest incidence of child marriage," he said.
He also said there should be effective implementation of the programme conducted by the government and added that children should be informed about it from the time of the school admission campaign itself.
In a bid to eradicate child marriage, the Madhes Province government has introduced various programmes such as 'Beti Padhau Beti Bachau', daughter's insurance, distribution of bicycles to eighth graders (girls) and scholarships to Dalit girls.
Deputy Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens Krishna Thapa said legal complications was the major obstacle to alleviating child marriage. He said since the age limit of child marriage is 18 years as stipulated by the Children's Act and 20 years as specified by the Civil Code, the ministry has started the process for its amendment.
Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Women, Children, Youth and Sports of the Government of Madhes Province Dev Kumari Khatri said work had progressed at the provincial level to fulfil the goals set by the federal government. She said the campaign to eliminate child marriage had started from Surunga Municipality in Madhes Province. Likewise, other municipalities are also preparing to follow suit.
President of Life Nepal, Surat Thakur, said they were planning to organise a state-level girls' conference in Janakpurdham on April 18 to make girls aware of child marriage in Madhes Province. Participants said the incidence of child marriage had increased due to various social disorders in Madhes province. They urged everyone to unite against such practice.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 30, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
