She was dragged by her neighbor, Gokul Gotame, when she was returning from school one day. Despite her unwillingness to get married, there was no one to listen to her. Her relatives and the society considered it legal and she was married off to Gokul. [break]
The negative culture of dragging away girls and the fact that they’re considered married after that has been going on for a long time. Men carry off girls they like from village fairs and jungles. According to the law, it is a punishable offence under the Human Trafficking and Transportation Control Act. A girl has to be 18 before she can be eligible by law for marriage.
However, challenging the law, in remote places like Khunga, Khungkhani, Bungadovan, Nisi, Bowang and many other Village Development Committees (VDCs) in Baglung, many girls are victims of child marriage. They are being married against their will, under family pressure. This culture of child marriage and abducting girls is affecting the psychology of young girl adolescents. It goes without saying that their education is hampered a great deal too.
All three girls (in the picture) were forced to get married at an early age. According to Dr Tarun Poudel, Medical Superintendent at Baglung Hospital, child marriage affects health, body, and relations with self and society negatively.
Rina Gharti, a grade 10 student of the Choregau Secondary School, with her son. Even though the culture of dragging away girls and considering it as getting married is a punishable offence under the Human Trafficking and Transportation Control Act, it is still practiced in many rural areas of Nepal. By law, a girl has to be 18 years of age before she can be eligible for marriage.
Photos: Dilip Paudel/Republica
When she is asked about her marriage, Hira Kumari speaks shyly and with tears in her eyes. “I was taken forcefully. I refused to get married but my family didn’t support me,” she says. She, now, stays with her parents’ and attends school.
Gammaya Shrepali also got married when she was studying in grade five. She wanted to get married only after she completed her higher studies, but her parents married her off when she was only 15. “My parents forced me to get married,” she says, adding, “I’ve been staying with my parents as it hampers my studies.” Her husband left for work abroad after the marriage and her in-law’s started pressuring her to quit school and tend to the domestic chores. Therefore, she moved back to her parents’ house.
Gammaya’s four classmates were married when they were all in grade five. Choregau Secondary School’s Rina Gharti, who studies in class 10, is already a mother. She misses class because she has to look after her son. “Should I look after my son, do my house chores or continue my studies?” she asks. Rina got married at an early age and she regrets it.
Khagmaya Gotame, who also got married when she was much younger, says that friends look down on her when she misses class.
As a daughter- in-law, the domestic chores like sweeping, cleaning, cooking and collecting firewood and fodder are expected to be done by them. A young married girl is forced to quit her studies when she is not able to balance and endure sexual relationship, family pressure and tension.
These problems occur in Dalit and indigenous communities mostly. In Khungkhani, the number of girls appearing for SLC examinations is still quite low though it’s been four years since the establishment of secondary education. “Many leave their studies after they get married,” says school teacher, Sher Bahadur Dharti. Child marriage is ongoing as there is no effective way of reducing it.
The lack of awareness amongst parents makes them believe that getting their daughters married will remove their responsibility towards them. Local journalist, Shanti Chantyal, who works in Radio Dhorpatan, Burtiwang, says, “Many young girls from the village have been caught and taken away when they were returning from school, fairs or from their work in the fields.”
This made Shanti leave her village and come to Burtiwang for her studies. Currently, she is pursuing her Bachelors degree and she says, “In a village which lacks awareness, illegal activities are challenging the law and getting protection instead.”
One and a half dozen young girls from Choregau Secondary School are already married. While some marry of their own wish, the majority of them are married off by their parents by force. Principal Lal Prasad Kadel, informs that though a children’s club was formed to spread awareness, it did not succeed. “We are trying to make people more and more aware through the club,” he says, “But a member of the club got married.”
Parents do not protest when such incidents occur, and this custom of marriage at a young age leave the girls troubled. Due to the birth of their children and involvement in domestic chores, their desire for higher education remains a distant dream. Giving birth at a young age can also affect her health.
Baglung Hospital’s Medical Superintendent, Dr Tarun Poudel says that child marriage affects health, body, and relations with self and society negatively. “Getting married before one matures affects the development of the physical parts and it results in health problems,” says Poudel, “A newborn baby’s health is also affected if the mother is very young.”
After the problems in remote VCDs in the district arose, Baglung Women Development Office have managed to attract the attention of the Ministry and appealed for a special program that will ensure education for young girls. Laxmi Jici, Women Development Officer, says that though it’s illegal to marry someone against their wish, parents don’t take care of their daughters and it troubles the young girls. “If the parents or the girl file a case then action can be taken,” informs Jici.
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