Stakeholders say that the problem is growing due to the lack of effective implementation of laws to control arranged marriages and child marriages.
We use Google Cloud Translation Services. Google requires we provide the following disclaimer relating to use of this service:
This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, expressed or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement.
The latest data from the Health Office, Baitadi, shows that the number of teenage mothers in the district is increasing. Although the law prohibits marriage under the age of 20, child marriage has not been completely stopped in the district. Its direct impact is seen in the increasing number of teenage pregnancies.
According to the Health Office, 11 percent of the pregnant women in the district in the current fiscal year are under the age of 20. According to Khagendra Karki, Statistics Officer and Information Officer of the District Health Office, 11 percent of the approximately 3,600 pregnant women in the district in a year are teenagers.
Data from the last three years shows that the proportion of teenage pregnancies is continuously increasing. In the fiscal year 2080/81, this number was 7 percent, while it reached 9 percent in the last fiscal year. Karki said that it has increased to 11 percent in the current fiscal year.
According to the local level, the proportion of pregnant women under the age of 20 is the highest at 21 percent in Sigas Rural Municipality. The statistics show that 16 percent of teenagers in Dogadakedar Rural Municipality, 13 percent in Surnaya Rural Municipality, 12 percent in Purchaundi Municipality, 11 percent in Melauli Municipality, 10 percent in Pancheshwor Rural Municipality, 9 percent in Dilashaini Rural Municipality, 8 percent in Shivnath Rural Municipality, and 6 percent each in Dasharathchand and Patan Municipalities are pregnant.
According to health workers, as runaway marriages have increased in recent times, child marriage has also increased. They say that when a situation arises where a mother has to become a mother at a young age due to child marriage, there is a risk of various complications in the health of both the mother and the child.
Even though the government has made legal provisions to prevent child marriage, the problem persists due to its inability to be effectively implemented in rural areas, stakeholders have said. According to them, it will be difficult to reduce child marriage and the problems of teenage mothers that are increasing due to it unless public awareness is raised at the community level along with stricter laws.
