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Nepal:
Social Life - Child Marriage |
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Tanahun:
Marriage at twelve is normal in remote regions |
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| Marriage
only after 20 is a popular slogan that comes through radio and television
almost every day in Nepal. However, the slogan is yet to be heard in remote
villages in Tanahun district of central Nepal. It will be surprising
to find an unmarried girl of 16 years in these remote and backward areas.
The trend of liking and eloping begins after the girls reach 12 and a girl
in these villages is already a mother of two to three children by the time
she reaches 16. |
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In exceptional cases, some girls got married at 16.
In some villages it is really very hard to find a girl who has not married
even at 16.
Marrying
very young and giving birth every year is a normal affair in Tanahun. A
young mother given birth for seven times but she looks to have just attained
the legal age for marriage. Married at 12, the woman gave births almost
annually and then underwent family planning at 21. Only four daughters
of here are alive. Looking back at her own experience, the mother has decided
not to allow her daughters pass through the same fate she had to undergo.
Girls and boys here choose their life partner by themselves and then elope.
However, the parent welcome it and then accept them back home.
Marry
young and bring up your children young is a traditional saying in Tanahun
district that is still leaving its mark on this village, and when will
it be able to free itself from this traditional culture is a question that
seems to remain unanswered for many years from now.
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