Nepal Launches Nationwide ‘Child Marriage Free’ Campaign

•Nepal government launches ‘Child Marriage Free Nepal’ with the support of Just Rights for Children and Nepal’s Backward Society Education; Nepal Prime Minister also takes pledge to end this crime in the country

•Like in India, Child Marriage Free Nepal to focus on districts with high prevalence of child marriage

•Just Rights for Children has been instrumental in stopping 2,50,000 child marriages in India and is striving for a world that is free from child marriage

•Between December 2 and 8, 39 countries from three continents participated in the JRC’s Child Marriage Free World pledge-taking ceremonies against child marriage

After India’s launch of the ‘Child Marriage Free Bharat’ campaign in November last year, Nepal has taken a significant step in the South Asia region by initiating a nationwide movement to end child marriage. The ‘Child Marriage Free Nepal’ campaign, launched by the Government of Nepal, is supported by Just Rights for Children (JRC) and BASE Nepal. The launch event, held in Kathmandu, was led by Nawal Kishor Sah Sudi, Minister of Women, Children, and Senior Citizens, alongside Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary, former Chief Minister of Lumbini Province and founder of BASE Nepal, and JRC founder and India’s noted child rights activist Bhuwan Ribhu who has been tirelessly advocating for a ‘Child Marriage Free World.’ Representatives from all seven provincial ministries of Nepal joined the event, underscoring the nation’s united commitment to ending this harmful practice.

The ‘Child Marriage Free Nepal’ campaign will focus on the districts and communities where there is a high prevalence of child marriage and will combine youth and community awareness about child marriage laws in Nepal. The campaign which will include pledge-taking ceremonies will engage various stakeholders, including government officials, lawyers, members of civil society organizations, faith leaders and children to end child marriage by the year 2030.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, on 27 November 2024, launched the Child Marriage Free India campaign in New Delhi and the campaign is expected to reach 25 crore people. Just Rights For Children, a network of 250 NGOs in 416 districts in India, has been instrumental in stopping as many as 2,50,000 child marriages across India. Just Rights For Children is gradually becoming synonymous with child rights in the country due to its various interventions and actions that have led to many landmark judgements in child protection in 2024 alone.

Emphasizing the urgency of a global commitment to end this heinous crime against children, Just Rights for Children Founder and noted child rights activist Bhuwan Ribhu said, “Today marks a historic day for all of us. What started as a dream for a ‘child marriage-free world’ is slowly becoming a reality, with more and more countries and governments joining us in this fight against child marriage.”

He further said, “Child marriage is the gravest human rights violation, and India has led the way in this fight, demonstrating unwavering commitment and leadership. With the Nepal government now launching its campaign, our collective strength to end this crime has multiplied exponentially. This marks not just a milestone, but a renewed promise to the millions of children to secure the freedom, dignity, health, education, and protection of every child. A new era begins today.”

Increasing its global footprint, Just Rights for Children organised the Child Marriage Free World global pledging week between 2 December 2024 and 8 December 2024. So far, 39 countries, including India and Nepal, across three continents—Asia, Africa, and America—have participated in this campaign. This unprecedented global response highlights the growing recognition of child marriage as one of the gravest human rights violations and underscores the need for collective action to eradicate it.

Child Marriage Free Nepal campaign is a major step towards ending child marriage in Nepal as the country has the second highest prevalence of child marriage in South Asia. As per official data, 35% of women aged 20-24 years married before age 18 accounting for 5.4 million child marriages out of which 1.5 million women were married before the age of 15 years. Notably, such a high prevalence of child marriage in Nepal is even though the legal marriageable age for both boys and girls is 20 years.