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Community Police Partnership Programme launched in Rautahat
The District Police Office launched the first Community Police Partnership Programme, an initiative of the Nepal Police, in Rautahat district on Saturday.Shiva Puri
The District Police Office launched the first Community Police Partnership Programme, an initiative of the Nepal Police, in Rautahat district on Saturday. The programme was launched against child marriage and the dowry system.
On Saturday, chiefs of local units and other stakeholders attended the programme organised in Gaur, the district headquarters of Rautahat. All of the concerned stakeholders assured their support to the police’s campaign against child marriage and dowry.
Child marriage, although abolished in 1963, is a practice that is still rampant in Nepal, especially in Madhesi communities and rural areas of the country.
For the awareness programme, police organised street shows and cultural programmes on the evils of child marriage and dowry. Ramekwal Raya, coordinator in the District Coordination Committee, said that he is certain that the police’s initiatives will have positive outcomes. He said, “Child marriage and the dowry system must be done away with, at any cost.”
According to the country’s law, the legal marriage age for both men and women in Nepal is 20. Superintendent of Police Bhupendra Khatri said that although the police plays an important role in mitigating such ill-practices in the society, it cannot tackle child marriage and dowry practices alone. He said, “Although child marriage is widely practiced in remote villages, only a few cases reach the police. To eradicate these evil practices, everybody in the community must come together and work together.”
Flags hoisted to control child marriage
BAITADI : In an attempt to control child marriage, the people’s representatives in Purchaurdi Municipality, Baitadi, have taken various steps to educate teenagers about the consequences of early marriage. One such step they have undertaken is the hoisting of red flags in households that have teenage girls in between 18 to 20 years of age.
Sarita Joshi, chief at the Women and Children Section in Purchaurdi Municipality, said that they have already placed 1,000 flags in the houses of teenagers.
“The municipal office has also formed a teenagers’ group and started to train them against ill practices. By hoisting the flags at the homes, we hope we will be able to keep an eye on the houses and take action if parents try to marry off their daughters,” said Joshi. Parents have also welcomed the decision of the rural municipality. Bhagrathi Dhami, a native of Purchaurdi-1, said that this move will also deter young boys and girls from marrying or eloping, which is a common practice in rural areas. She said, “Through this initiative, the children will get to learn about the disadvantages of early marriage.”
Jhima Devi Dhami, a teenager of Purchaurdi-1, said that since she now knows the consequences of early marriage, she has made up her mind to get married only after she reaches marriageable age. She said, “The programme helped me understand the cons of early marriage. Earlier I wasn’t sure why it was wrong to marry early but now I do.” The municipality has plans to expand the programme to all the wards in the municipality.