By Our Correspondent, Bajura, Apr. 17: A street drama has been staged in various wards of Bajura’s Budhiganga Municipality to generate awareness against child marriage practices.

Child marriage practices are more prevalent in Budhiganga Municipality than in the other nine local levels of the Bajura district.

Therefore, to reduce the incidents of early marriages in the municipality, the street drama was staged in the participation of parents, teachers, students and local leaders to generate awareness against the ill practice, the organisers said. The street drama was staged in wards 4, 6, 7, 9 and 10 of the municipality in the financial and technical support of Peace Win, Bajura, Budiganga Municipality and Good Neighbours International.

Early marriages are on the rise in the municipality due to a lack of programmes to raise illiteracy and awareness among locals.

Deuda dance, street drama and many other programmes have been organised in the villages to reduce the incidents of early marriages, said the programme coordinator of Peace Win, Bajura, Tek Bahadur Thapa.

Deuda songs, dance and street dramas help teachers and parents understand the impact of child marriage, said Gobinda Kumar Chaudhary, an official of Good Neighbours International Nepal.

Such programmes have been able to change the mindset of parents and children in the village, he added.