Protecting the Youth: A Closer Look at Child Marriage in Nepal
Katrina Venta
PSY 217
Professor Telk
November 6, 2016
Abstract
No matter the country or culture, children below a certain age are too young to make informed choices, whether about sex or marriage. One of the 16 sexual rights from the World Association for Sexual Health states that any person has “the right to enter, form, and dissolve marriage and other similar types of relationships based on equality and free consent” (WAS, 2014). There are many issues that violate this particular sexual right, and one of the biggest ones is the issue of child marriage. Child marriage is a problem that is prominent in both the developed and developing world. In Nepal — which …show more content…
According to Human Rights Watch, 37 percent of girls marry before they turn 18, and roughly about 10 percent marry by the age of 15 (Sharma, 2016). These marriages result from poverty, lack of education, and child labor among others. It is also more prominent on lower caste communities where people have little to no access to education, and it is higher among Muslims and Hindus. This shows how much of an impact it has on the children and this is why there is a ban on child marriage, just as there is a legal age of consent. The enforcement of the law against child marriage in Nepal is weak, and actions must be taken to help eradicate the problem of child marriage. Being forced to marry as a child is detrimental to a child’s well-being, and …show more content…
Although, little attention is being given to child grooms because there are less of them, but it does not negate the fact that it damages them just the same. According to an LA Times article focused on the issue of child marriage in Nepal, children are being married at a young age as a way for their families to control their sexuality. For families living in poverty, it is also a way of getting rid of one of their obligations. Boys are torn between being a man to his wife, and being a child living under his parents’ roof and vice versa (Bengali,
Katrina Venta
PSY 217
Professor Telk
November 6, 2016
Abstract
No matter the country or culture, children below a certain age are too young to make informed choices, whether about sex or marriage. One of the 16 sexual rights from the World Association for Sexual Health states that any person has “the right to enter, form, and dissolve marriage and other similar types of relationships based on equality and free consent” (WAS, 2014). There are many issues that violate this particular sexual right, and one of the biggest ones is the issue of child marriage. Child marriage is a problem that is prominent in both the developed and developing world. In Nepal — which …show more content…
According to Human Rights Watch, 37 percent of girls marry before they turn 18, and roughly about 10 percent marry by the age of 15 (Sharma, 2016). These marriages result from poverty, lack of education, and child labor among others. It is also more prominent on lower caste communities where people have little to no access to education, and it is higher among Muslims and Hindus. This shows how much of an impact it has on the children and this is why there is a ban on child marriage, just as there is a legal age of consent. The enforcement of the law against child marriage in Nepal is weak, and actions must be taken to help eradicate the problem of child marriage. Being forced to marry as a child is detrimental to a child’s well-being, and …show more content…
Although, little attention is being given to child grooms because there are less of them, but it does not negate the fact that it damages them just the same. According to an LA Times article focused on the issue of child marriage in Nepal, children are being married at a young age as a way for their families to control their sexuality. For families living in poverty, it is also a way of getting rid of one of their obligations. Boys are torn between being a man to his wife, and being a child living under his parents’ roof and vice versa (Bengali,