Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] on Thursday accused Nepal of not doing all it could to prevent child marriages as a report [text] detailed at least 37 percent of girls are still being married before age 18. Nepal is considered to have the third highest child marriage rate in Asia with some girls under the age of 15 being wed even though child marriage has been illegal in the country since 1963. The report, entitled “Our Time to Sing and Play,” included interviews with more than 100 individuals impacted by child marriages across the regions with various religious and socioeconomic backgrounds. HRW found that child marriages are not only being arranged by families but also the children themselves who fear rumors of their sexuality or pregnancy will halt their futures. The rights group also found that gender discrimination is still an underlying cause for the practice as women and young girls do not receive the same educational benefits, making a young marriage a viable option to secure a future. HRW believes the government should do more to protect young girls from the practice of child marriage and to ensure their access to education and their futures:

The government needs to do much more to prevent child marriage and to help married children. It should make good quality education accessible to all children and enforce the constitutional provision making primary education compulsory. Government schools and health workers should work to prevent child marriage, by intervening in specific cases, raising awareness, and equipping children with the information they need to make informed choices about sex and reproduction. Local government offices should play an active role in raising awareness about the law regarding child marriage and preventing child marriages.

The rights of women and girls continues to be an international rights issue. in April the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia, Rhona Smith, appealed [JURIST report] to the country to strengthen the protection of its women and the rights of its indigenous peoples. In June the UN Working Group on Discrimination against Women in Law called [JURIST report] on the world’s governments to take quick, effective steps towards ensuring women are granted equal rights to health, including reproductive and sexual health. In July Gambia and Tanzania’s governments announced [JURIST report] the end of the practice of child marriage along with prison sentences for those who continue the tradition.