At just 19 years of age, a woman from ward 3 of Dhakari Rural Municipality finds herself the mother of a three-year-old girl. She got married after falling in love at the age of 15, when she was in the ninth grade. She eloped with a young man from a neighbouring village. He was in grade 11 at the time of their marriage.

Their relationship was good for some time, but after their child was born, she could not study further. After passing grade 12, her husband moved to Kathmandu to learn a foreign language to go abroad, and from there troubles started in their relationship.

She says she suffers mental trauma due to the negligence of her husband and her family, and due to a lack of funds she even struggles to provide medicine and proper nutrition to her daughter.

“After the baby was born, my husband started to neglect both of us. He wouldn’t even receive my phone calls for weeks and later scold me for disturbing him. He came home during the Dashain last year and severely beat me up over a minor issue,” she said.

“I got married without the approval of my family, quit my studies, and became a mother at a very young age. Now I regret my decision because of the suffering it has brought. My family shows no concern for me, my daughter, or my husband. I feel helpless without any source of income or academic qualifications,” she added.

Another 19-year-old woman from ward 5 of Ramaroshan Rural Municipality of the district also eloped at the age of 15, and now she is a victim of domestic violence and mental stress. She said that her husband tortured her and brutally beat her, forcing her to leave him so he could marry somebody else.

“I am illiterate and have nowhere to go, and even if I leave my husband, my family will not accept me. I even went to the police station twice when my husband started beating me, but that did not change anything,” she said.

According to Srijana Devi Budha, vice-chair of Ramaroshan Rural Municipality, child marriage is still a serious issue in the area due to entrenched beliefs, tradition, and elopements at a young age. ‘The problem persists despite repeated efforts of the rural municipality and security personnel,” she added.

“We have been conducting awareness campaigns in all wards and schools to discourage child marriage, but our efforts haven’t been effective. We have even separated several teenage couples who eloped and handed them over to their parents, but they always find ways to reunite, sometimes by moving to cities or even India,” said Budha.

“While the involvement of parents in child marriage is very low, early-age elopements remains a major problem here. Some girls even end up getting pregnant at a young age, forcing their parents to arrange marriages,” Budha added.

Achham, a hill district in the Sudurpaschim Province, is one of the least developed districts in the country. Most local units here have difficult topography.

But underage marriage is not only a problem in the remote areas, it is a pressing issue also in Mangalsen, the district headquarters, where teenagers elope and get pregnant.

A 20-year-old woman from ward 13 of Mangalsen Municipality eloped five years ago and is now the mother of three daughters, the youngest of whom is a year old. Her husband and family constantly pressure her to give birth to a son, threatening to marry someone else and kick her out of the house if she fails to fulfill the demand.

“Due to three childbirths before the age of 20, I suffer from several reproductive issues, and doctors have advised against conceiving again anytime soon, and to stick to contraceptives. Regardless of the doctor’s warning, my family wants me to have a son. Yet if I get pregnant again, I will be putting my life in danger. They don’t understand, and I don’t know what to do,” said the 20-year-old.

Despite being outlawed, child marriage remains prevalent in society. As per the Civil Code Act 2017, the legal age of marriage for both women and men in Nepal is 20 years. As per Section 173 of the Criminal Code, a person found guilty of either engaging in or arranging underage marriage faces up to three years in jail and a Rs30,000 fine or both.

Nepal banned child marriage in 1963.

According to the Achham District Police Office, even though there is a law on child marriage, it has not been fully applied to child marriage-related crimes in the district.

In the district, many married girls under the age of 20 have undergone pregnancy tests, received obstetric and maternity services, and even had abortions.

According to the Achham Health Office, in the fiscal year 2020-2021, out of all the women who visited health facilities for pregnancy check-ups, 13 percent were under the age of 20. This figure decreased to 10 percent in the fiscal year 2021-2022, and nine percent in the fiscal year 2022-2023. Similarly, 41 women under 20 had abortions in the fiscal year 2020-2021, 37 in the fiscal year 2021-2022, and 31 in the fiscal year 2022-2023.

Sushila Dhungana, senior auxiliary nurse midwife of Achham Health Office, said there are many pregnant teenagers who hide their real age when seeking pregnancy tests. Otherwise, the number of cases in the district would likely be much higher.

“Child marriage brings a host of problems including short-lived marriages, reproductive complications for teenage mothers, underdeveloped childbirth, sexual and gender violence, child labour, trafficking, and various forms of harassment and torture against girls and women,” Dhungana explained.

“Children born to teenage mothers are low-weight and unhealthy, while the mothers themselves endure physical and mental weaknesses. Also the rate of stillborn infants born to teenage moms is very high,” said Dhungana.

She stressed the need for raising awareness in local communities and schools and enforcing laws effectively to tackle the problem.