page_title: Gender inequality in Nepal
section_title: Child marriage
hierarchical_section_title: Gender inequality in Nepal / Familial inequalities / Child marriage
caption_attribution_description: English: Young Hindu-couple after the wedding ceremony in Nepal. Français&#160;: Un jeune couple hindou après la cérémonie du mariage, au Népal.
context_page_description: Gender inequality in Nepal refers to disparities and inequalities between men and women in Nepal, a landlocked country in South Asia. Gender inequality is defined as unequal treatment and opportunities due to perceived differences based solely on issues of gender. Gender inequality is a major barrier for human development worldwide as gender is a determinant for the basis of discrimination in various spheres such as health, education, political representation, and labor markets. Although Nepal is modernizing and gender roles are changing, the traditionally patriarchal society creates systematic barriers to gender equality.
context_section_description: Early marriage is a societal norm in Nepal and is reflective of patriarchal values. Nepal has the third highest rate of childhood marriage in Asia. Disproportionately affecting women, 40 percent of marriages involve girls 15 years of age. Many women begin having children before the age of 20, especially in rural areas and the Terai region. Many young girls in rural areas are married right after puberty and sometimes before, with sexual activity soon to follow. Parents are largely in control of their daughters' child marriage and poor families do not want to spend limited resources on daughters if their daughters cannot provide to the family's income. Thus, young girls are perceived to be a burden for their parents and sons are expected to take care of their parents in old age. There is also a culturally value on virginity; thus, early marriage increases the likelihood that a woman remains "pure" until marriage. In addition, early marriage is desired for submissive wives since younger women are more likely to depend on their families. Women largely do not have say when the marriage is arranged by their parents. However, forms of marriage are slowly shifting from arranged marriage to "love" marriage with parental approval.
  Early arranged marriage and early childbearing are associated with lower levels of women's autonomy, access to education and employment opportunities for women relative to men. Serious health consequences from child marriage include early pregnancy and pregnancy complications. Young girls forced into child marriages are also at greater risk of abuse, domestic violence and abandonment.
  Although the 2015 Constitution of Nepal outlaws child marriage as a punishable offense, marriage without consent is not clearly prohibit and many families find loopholes around the law. The earthquake in 2015 was expected to increase the number of child marriages because young girls were being raped in makeshift shelters and families were marrying their daughters to older men as a form of protection against sexual violence.
caption: Nepali couple after their wedding ceremony.
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