POLICY BRIEF JUNE 2021 © UNICEF/UNI185604/Page Girls wash their hands with soap and spring water by the roadside in Dolakha District - one of the hardest-hit CHILD earthquake districts in Nepal. EARTHQUAKE- MARRIAGE AFFECTED DISTRICTS IN IN HUMANITARIAN NEPAL SETTINGS C onsistent with other countries in South households, the displacement As of 2019, Asia, Nepal has experienced declines lasted weeks or months, with some 7 per cent in rates of child marriage during the setting up temporary shelters next of Nepalese men aged last two decades, though it still has to their damaged houses. Others 20-24 in urban areas the second highest rate in the region. were displaced for years, and some – – and 14 per cent in rural areas – had been Within Nepal, higher rates of child especially young men -- chose to move married before age 18. marriage tend to correlate with permanently to Kathmandu or abroad. lower rates of education, rural setting, and lower socioeconomic This policy brief summarizes key 40 per cent status, which is historically tied to findings from two of the most of Nepalese women caste and ethnic discrimination. severely affected districts, aged 20–24 said that Sindhupalchowk and Dolakha, marriage was the main reason to discontinue In April and May of 2015, two major based on the report, Child Marriage their education. earthquakes and their aftershocks in Humanitarian Settings in South struck Nepal, triggered landslides Asia: Study Results from Bangladesh that devastated rural villages, and and Nepal. While the report covers damaged some of the most densely a wider range of aspects of child populated parts of Kathmandu. marriage in the years following the Nearly 9,000 people were killed, earthquakes, this brief will focus on 22,000 were injured, and 2.8 million prevalence, influencing factors, and people were displaced. For many recommendations. CHILD MARRIAGE EARTHQUAKE-AFFECTED IN HUMANITARIAN SETTINGS DISTRICTS IN NEPAL PREVALENCE OF CHILD MARRIAGE 14 FIGURE 1 13.1 Prevalence of child marriage in 12 Sindhupalchowk and 10 Dolakha, 2019 (%) 9.1 9.5 7.6 8 6.8 6.9 6 6.7 5.4 4.8 4.6 4 3.4 2 2 0.6 0 Age 15-17, currently married 0 Age 18-19, married before age 18 Male Female Male Female Age 20-24, married before age 18 Sindhupalchowk District Dolakha District The prevalence of child marriage Patterns shown by the data include: in Sindhupalchowk and Dolakha is typically lower than the national • Across all age groups and both average of Nepal, which historically districts, more girls than boys are has been high but is on the decline. married before age 18. “Child marriage has been on the decline Marriage before age 15 is very rare in • Girls in Sindhupalchowk in the last 2-3 years. In the past, child both districts. have been the most likely to marriage was very common.” experience child marriage in any – MARRIAGE REGISTRAR FROM Figure 1 shows the prevalence of age group, although nearly as many SINDHUPALCHOWK DISTRICT marriage prior to age 18 among girls in Dolakha are married when progressively older age groups in each comparing the 15-17 age groups. “People generally get married district: respondents who were aged • While more boys were married through elopement [in the Tamang 15-17 at the time of the late 2019 before 18 in Dolakha than in community]. If they like someone, survey, those aged 18-19, and those Sindhupalchowk in the 20-24 they elope with them and get married. aged 20-24. It is important to note that and 18-19 age groups, that is no The parents have no say in this.” since more adolescents aged 15-17 longer the case for boys aged 15- may have married after the survey – WOMAN AGED 20–24 IN 17, seemingly due to migration of SINDHUPALCHOWK DISTRICT took place, the prevalence rate for married boys to Kathmandu. this age group should be considered an underestimation, and is not directly According to household survey “Before the earthquake, adolescents were married at 16 or 17 but now the comparable to the rates of the other respondents, the prevalence of child age of marriage has increased. The two age groups. However, it is possible marriage was the highest among the programme “bihebari 20 barsa pari” that these data do indicate a spike Terai Dalit, followed by the Hill Dalit, (marriage only after the age of 20 years) in child marriage rates following the and the Magar. Qualitative respondents has led to the delay in marriage among 2015 earthquakes, and a subsequent also reported that elopement was girls and boys.” drop-off. In interviews, more than a highest among the Tamang community, – MARRIED BOY quarter of respondents specifically which could contribute to rates of child IN DOLAKHA DISTRICT mentioned that the prevalence of marriage in that group as elopement is child marriage is declining. correlated with earlier marriage age. EARTHQUAKE-AFFECTED CHILD MARRIAGE DISTRICTS IN NEPAL IN HUMANITARIAN SETTINGS • Almost twice as many girls as FACTORS AFFECTING CHILD boys named family honour as the primary factor influencing the age MARRIAGE RATES of their marriage. • Parents reported that families As Figure 2 illustrates, similar factors may either drive could identify better partners for or moderate child marriage, depending on the specifics. their children while the adolescents FIGURE 2 As child marriage was already on the decline, the Act are younger, as “good” partners Key factors in Relating to Children was enacted in 2018 to strengthen tend to get married first. child marriage in the legal framework. Thus, it is difficult to determine • Internet and cellular connectivity Sindhupalchowk precisely what to attribute to the earthquakes, but text in these districts increased after and Dolakha in green indicates factors that were closely linked to earthquakes, as infrastructure Districts, 2019 them. Other points to note include: was rebuilt. DRIVERS AND ENABLERS MODERATORS Adolescent agency Adolescent agency • Elopements and other self-initiated marriages becoming much • Those who prefer to hold off to pursue studies or more common professional development are now more likely to • Social media, mobile phones, and social contact enable finding own partner, associated with lower age at marriage be permitted to do so • Elopement also sought as escape from unwanted arranged wedding, or violence or neglect at home Lower levels of education Girls’ education • School closures after the earthquakes • Increased advocacy and opportunities regarding girls’ • Lower household educational attainment associated with education after the earthquakes led to more girls able to higher rates of child marriage remain in school longer, especially in Dolakha Lower awareness of the risks of child marriage Awareness of the risks of child marriage • Suspension of programming led to a dip in community • Adolescents receiving information regarding the risks had awareness of the risks of child marriage lower rates of child marriage Gendered norms regarding family honour • Even perceptions of possible impropriety, such as adolescent social contact with the other sex, can call family honour into question • Pregnant girls pressured to marry immediately • Parents arrange daughters’ marriages to prevent the possiblity of future elopement, which would bring dishonour, especially if “They marry their daughters at an early age, thinking that with boys of lower social status if they run away, it will bring shame to the family. So they • In displaced settings, parents worry more about bad social influences or sons “doing something bad” marry them when they are young and under control.” Fear of sexual violence and trafficking – CHILD’S CLUB MEMBER IN DOLAKHA DISTRICT • Increase in rape and trafficking of girls in Sindhupalchowk District after the earthquakes “ We would get a good job only if we completed our • Marriage seen as protective study. When we did not, at least our parents would get some help with household chores if we got married. So Economic insecutiy; basic needs we got married at an early age.” • Displaced adolescents and parents may seek child marriage – MARRIED BOY AGE 15–19 for more reliable food, shelter, physical safety IN SINDHUPALCHOWK DISTRICT • Economic losses drove some families to marry off daughters to decrease household costs “My house was damaged. His house was better than Desire for family security; emotional needs mine. I thought if I marry him, I would get to live in a better house.” • Loss of parent(s) associated with higher rates of child marriage • Elders desire grandchildren and great-grandchildren sooner, so they can see the family lineage expand – MARRIED ADOLESCENT GIRL • Strain on disaster-affected families sometimes left parents IN DOLAKHA DISTRICT unable to meet childrens’ needs for care and attention; boys especially saw marriage as a comfort CHILD MARRIAGE EARTHQUAKE-AFFECTED IN HUMANITARIAN SETTINGS DISTRICTS IN NEPAL RECOMMENDATIONS The recommendations of the report primarily about the impacts of natural disasters on encompass efforts to address child marriage marriage and family formation. Whether in humanitarian settings in South Asia more or not these changes in young people’s generally, focusing on common themes across agency, decline in family arranged marriages, both Bangladesh and Nepal. These include further self-initiation and use of social media were a research on what works to effectively programme magnification of an existing trend or the result to end child marriage; programming that focuses on of the emergency and its aftermath, and how bolstering economic and physical security, shifting these changes affect patterns of child marriage social norms, and including the needs of adolescent are important areas for further research. boys; and policy that addresses the impact of • The effects of COVID-19 on child marriage legislation, the varying types of child marriage in warrant additional study. play, and the importance of continuity of access to civil registration.