A case of child marriage in the Doti district of Nepal has been canceled by the police on Jestha 30. A 17-year-old girl from Dipayal Silgadhi Municipality was married to a 21-year-old man from Sayal village of the district. The girl is still a minor according to the laws of Nepal.
Municipal children’s club of Dipayal Silgadhi municipality had lodged a complaint with the district police seeking annulment of the marriage. Shortly after the complaint, the marriage was annulled. The information was made available by Indra Bahadur Malla who is the DSP and information officer at the district police office in the district. He also highlighted that after the department received a complaint of child marriage, the marriage was annulled immediately.
The coordinator of the municipal children’s network said that the marriage was annulled and the girl was handed over to a relative. According to Dan Bahadur Malla, chief of police, those who get married under the age of 20 will be punished according to the law. Locals said that child marriage was encouraged in the district. The practice of child marriage is still prevalent in the Doti district and so many other districts of Nepal. However, getting married against the law is punishable.
The locals have prepared done some planning to end child marriage but are yet to be implemented in the villages. The cases of child marriage have been rising at an alarming rate since last year after the pandemic. A recently published paper by ReliefWeb also reported that the pandemic was contributing to child marriage. Years of progress have been halted and even reversed in some cases especially in Nepal.
h/t risingnepaldaily
