By Our Correspondent

Bhairahawa, Jan. 19

With a motive to end child marriage, the State 5 government has set forth a plan to unite and empower teenagers of the State.

The State government has joined a campaign launched to end child marriage from the southern part of Rupandehi district.

Sunita Harijan, a local of Lumbini Sanskritik Municipality, said, “The female teenagers are carrying out door-to-door awareness campaign by forming Girls’ Rights Forum.

The campaign has left a positive impact in the society, said Harijan.

“The campaign was initiated to generate awareness against child marriage amongst the teenagers,” she added.

 More than 55,000 children aged below 12 years do not go to school in State 5.

Sashikala Yadav, another local, said that in order to end child marriage, it was important to educate teenaged girls.  “Majority of the girls in southern Rupandehi do not go to school, they are in utmost need of education and awareness.”

Sudarsan Baral, State Minister for Social Development of State 5, said, “Around 17,000 children in Rupandehi and Kapilvastu districts are in risk of getting married at an early age and the government has been striving to educate them.”

The sustainable development goals aims to eradicate social evils like child marriage and forced marriage by the year 2030.

Even though all three tiers of governments have been formulating various plans to end child marriage by 2030, the locals have been complaining that the plans enforced by the government had become ineffective.

As per a survey carried by Kriyashil Siddhartha Community Society in the rural areas of the district, child marriage was prevalent alarmingly in the rural areas.

The study was done among 1,130 married teenagers of Omsatiya, Kothimai, Marchawari, Samarimai Gaupalikas and Lumbini Sanskritik Municipality.

It was found that 50 of the 130 teenagers had got married when they were below 14 years of age, 41 got married when they were 15-17 years and 539 got married when they were 18-19 years.

The number of teenagers leaving school due to child marriage is also high in the district. Among 1,130 teenagers who got married at an early age, 914, i.e., more than 80 per cent of them had left the school after getting married.

The guardians in the district were seen to be in dilemma about whether to educate their girls or to give them dowry while they get married.

We have to give dowry even if we get our girls married after educating them, said the guardians.

Altogether 989 guardians of the 1130 teenagers want  that their children should continue their education after getting married. The remaining 141 guardians said that despite educating their girls, they were compelled to provide dowry to during their daughters’ marriage.