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Agence France-Presse

Teenager Asha Charti Karki told her parents she was going out to study, but instead she ran off to wed her boyfriend – one of a growing number of Nepali teenagers who are marrying young by choice.
“There were rumours about us in the village and I had fights at home. I felt I had no choice but to run away,” Karki said at her home in the western district of Surkhet.
Nepal has one of the world’s highest rates of child marriage even though the practice was banned five decades ago and the legal marrying age is 20.
Some 50 per cent of Nepali women aged between 25 to 49 were married by their 18th birthday, according the Himalayan nation’s 2016 Demographic Health Survey.
This practice is posing a challenge for us and for the government.
Anand Tamang, Girls Not Brides Nepal
Marriages in the conservative country were traditionally were arranged by parents, with many forcing their children to marry for cultural reasons or out of poverty.
Such marriages are declining but child rights activists warn an increasing number of underage couples are eloping for “love marriage” – a term used to describe unions by choice.
A 2014 survey by Girls Not Brides Nepal, which is part of a global network set up to end child marriage, found that one-third of such unions were initiated by young couples, and that the trend was increasing.
“This practice is posing a challenge for us and for the government. We can tell the parents but it is hard to convince young boys and girls when they marry by choice,” said Anand Tamang of Girls Not Brides Nepal.

Tamang said voluntary child marriages, like forced unions, still pose the same risks, including dropping out of school, domestic violence and health problems.
Girls in particular lose the support of their families when they elope, he added.
Karki was among those who quit school early after getting married, as she struggled to cope with household chores and family responsibilities.
Soon after, she found out she was pregnant.

“I was only 16, too young to understand what I was getting into,” she said, cradling her two-year-old daughter. “I had lied to my parents and run away, but I was actually betraying myself and my future.”
Her early pregnancy left her with uterine prolapse, a painful condition which sees the uterus or womb descend and protrude out of the vagina.
“It is difficult. I often see my friends and wonder where I would be if I had not married,” she added.

While the Nepali government has implemented a national strategy to end child marriages – punishable by jail terms and a fine – by 2030, it acknowledges the programme can only be successful if the roots of the problem are tackled.
Some girls elope to avoid a potential forced marriage, or to escape poverty or chores at home.
With teen romances seen as socially unacceptable in much of rural Nepal, young couples feel they have to run away and get married to legitimise their relationships. Others feel pushed to marry if they fall pregnant.
It is important that they understand that being sexually active does not equate to marriage.
Krishna Prasad Bhusal, minister
Meanwhile, underage love marriages are rarely reported to authorities, with families only seeking legal recourse if they disapprove of unions such as inter-caste marriages.
“The main thing is education. It is important that they understand that being sexually active does not equate to marriage,” said Krishna Prasad Bhusal of the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens.
Karki hopes she can help other girls by sharing her experiences with them as part of a programme called Sisters for Sisters’ Education run by British charity VSO Nepal.
“I tell them that they should not have to marry and teach others like me that they should learn from my mistakes now,” she said.
China’s former child brides refuse to be silenced
In her role as “big sister”, Karki persuaded 17-year-old Aradhana Nepal to leave her abusive marriage and return to school.
Aradhana was only 13 when she eloped with a boy she barely knew. There had been gossip about them and she did not know what else to do to protect her reputation.
It was only after they married that she discovered he was a violent drug addict. She endured beatings for months before she escaped.
She recalled: “It was a mistake. Leaving that marriage saved my life.”


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Nepal

In Nepal, children are getting married for love by choice

Asha Charti Karki, who married at age 16 and mentors young girls on the importance of education, plays with her daughter in her home. Photo: AFP

In this photograph taken on September 12, 2019 Asha Charti Karki (2nd L), who got married at age 16, mentors young girls on the importance of education in Barahataal in Surkhet District, some 520km west of Kathmandu. - Nepal has one of the world's highest rates of child marriage even though the practice was banned five decades ago and the legal marrying age is 20. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP) / TO GO WITH: Nepal children marriage, FEATURE by Paavan MATHEMA

In this photograph taken on September 12, 2019 Asha Charti Karki (C), who got married at age 16 and mentors young girls on the importance of education, sits with her daughter in Barahataal in Surkhet District, some 520km west of Kathmandu. - Nepal has one of the world's highest rates of child marriage even though the practice was banned five decades ago and the legal marrying age is 20. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP) / TO GO WITH: Nepal children marriage, FEATURE by Paavan MATHEMA

In this photograph taken on September 12, 2019 Asha Charti Karki (C), who got married at age 16, mentors young girls on the importance of education in Barahataal in Surkhet District, some 520km west of Kathmandu. - Nepal has one of the world's highest rates of child marriage even though the practice was banned five decades ago and the legal marrying age is 20. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP) / TO GO WITH: Nepal children marriage, FEATURE by Paavan MATHEMA

Child marriage survivor Aradhana Nepal, centre, attends a class in Surkhet District, 520km west of Kathmandu. Photo: AFP

Indonesia raises minimum age for brides to 19 in bid to end child marriage

A 10-year-old actress dons a wedding gown at an event organised by Amnesty International to denounce child marriage. Photo: AFP

An Indonesian man present a package of gifts to his bride during a mass wedding ceremony attended by 47 couples in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 18, 2005. The mass marriage was held by the State Secretariate to help the poor who were unable to afford proper wedding. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Saudi Arabia advisory body aims to end child marriage, setting minimum age limit of 15, but loopholes remain

Women walk past a poster of Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud on the outskirts of Riyad in this February 12, 2018, file photo. Photo: Reuters

Saudi women use their mobile phones during the Janadriyah festival of Heritage and Culture held in the Saudi village of Al-Thamama, 50 kilometres north of the capital Riyadh, on February 8, 2016. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP)

From Vietnam, without love: the child brides of China

In the rural mountains of Vietnam, young girls are disappearing from their homes with increasing regularity. Many turn up across the border, sold as wives for the price of a buffalo

Sa Pa is one of the poorest towns in northern Vietnam, though it is popular with tourists and backpackers. Photo: Yen Duong

Su's son. The family is one of the poorest in the area. Photo: Yen Duong

Mai was in her 20s when she was sold by a man she was briefly seeing. She was sold at least five times while in China, where she suffered major mental and physical abuses. Her trafficker and tormentors still walk free. Photo: Yen Duong

Cau, a 19-year-old art student, and her friend were kidnapped and taken to China by the latter’s aunt. Cau escaped after three months in China - her friend’s fate is unknown.

Giang Thi Su, a 40-year-old farmer. Su lost her 17-year-old daughter to a group of Chinese traffickers. Here she is also pictured wearing her daughter’s dress. She does not have any photos of her girl. Photo: Yen Duong

Sung Thi Ku, 54, a farmer. Both of Ku's daughters were taken to China. She is wearing her second daughter’s handmade gown, the only souvenir she has of her girl. Photo: Yen Duong

Photo: Shutterstock

Cau draws her dream home. At Hagar International, kidnapping victims are offered psychological support such as arts therapy to help them forget their past. Photo: Yen Duong

Tien, 21, was kidnapped and sold to human traffickers in China when she was 17. She wants to become a social worker to help other people. Photo: Yen Duong

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Asia

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One in two women in Nepal aged between 25 to 49 were married by their 18th birthday, according to a 2016 survey



One in two women in Nepal aged between 25 to 49 were married by their 18th birthday, according to a 2016 survey.


Women and gender

Poverty

In Nepal, children are getting married for love by choice

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} One in two women in Nepal aged between 25 to 49 were married by their 18th birthday, according to a 2016 survey

One in two women in Nepal aged between 25 to 49 were married by their 18th birthday, according to a 2016 survey