When I turned 26, there was talk of my marriage in the village. At that time, some of my friends were already mothers of two or three children. Most people would say that I lead a single life. When my mother passed away when I was 22 years old, the responsibility of raising two younger siblings was added to my shoulders. At that time, it was customary for most of the daughters to get married without completing their schooling.

After completing school education in the village, there was a situation where he had to go to another district to study college. At that time, I was the first girl in the village to go to college. Even a village elder who helped me to study for three days while I was filling the form said, "Madhu, you should get married only after completing your education, otherwise no one will send your daughter to college" is still fresh in my mind.

Besides, my literate mother also used to tell me from time to time that she got married when she was 26 years old. I have also seen the scenario in my village where people who get married without completing their school education lead a miserable life, so I decided not to get married early.

Even if it seems impossible to create a society free from child marriage, not only the family but also the society we live in, it is necessary to prepare a social environment including mature and conscious parents to make it possible. Because parents are the first to guide their children right from childhood. 

If we take an overview of the past and present situation of Nepali society, it seems that malpractice like child marriage is still rooted. In the Nepalese society where people from multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural, multi-religious and different communities live, people are living their lives by upholding their own values ​​and beliefs. Especially in Terai, Madhesi community still has a trend of getting married before reaching the age of majority compared to others.

When parents get their children married before they are old enough or some people get married before they reach their age, not only the present but also the future becomes confused. Not only that, when their children are married off before reaching their age or when they marry voluntarily, they are forced to become parents at a young age.

The mental and physical pain experienced by daughters-in-law who are forced to become mothers at a young age is immense. In my own village neighborhood, there are many people who get married at a young age and become mothers at a young age. In this way, some girls who got married before their age and some were married off by their parents have taken shelter of their in-laws after their husbands gave them grief. Even though the economic situation is miserable, the parents have to support not only their daughters, but also their grandchildren.

Dowry is one of the many reasons why the practice of getting married before the age of majority continues, especially in the Madhesi community. Especially because dowry has to be paid, it seems that the practice of parents marrying off their daughters before they are old enough has continued. Illiteracy has also played a role in this. What is even sadder is that some of these parents do not want to educate their daughters because they have to give a lot of dowry to an educated son-in-law. Instead, they dream of securing their daughter's future by giving Kust dowry.

In particular, even though the government has made dowry-related laws from time to time, it does not seem to be implemented. Even in the past, the government did not envisage a child marriage free society from time to time. Although it is not only by imagining, it is necessary for the concerned bodies to be sensitive and flexible to prepare the social environment for this. 

In the month of January, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli announced the 'Child Marriage Free Nepal National Campaign' in Kathmandu with great fanfare. Likewise, child rights activists are coordinating and collaborating with various organizations to build a child marriage-free society. Similarly, in the past some sociologists and academics have published a report on the study of child marriage by those who are getting school education.

It is necessary to conduct training aimed at teenagers about the far-reaching negative effects of child marriage, including the orientation on child marriage in schools, colleges and universities, especially the concerned bodies of education. It is necessary for the local levels to coordinate and collaborate with schools and educational institutions to create awareness programs about child marriage, focusing on teenagers who are getting education at school. In this way, only if the parents are alert and aware, the end of bad practices like child marriage is possible. 

Section 173 of the Criminal Code, 2074 stipulates that no one should marry a child, while the Act on Children 2075 considers child marriage as a crime and violence against children, and the government has prescribed 3 years imprisonment and a fine of up to 75 thousand rupees.

In this way, even though the government has made a law on child marriage, the majority of citizens, especially the communities, classes and castes where child marriage is rooted, seem to be ignorant about it. It is necessary for the local levels to be proactive in informing such communities, classes and castes about the laws related to child marriage. In particular, it is necessary for the union and state governments to play a parental role to implement the laws made by the federal government regarding child marriage.

Ironically, Nepal ranks 16th in the world where child marriages occur. Bangladesh is the first in the list of South Asian countries, Nepal is the third after India.