Cause details

Research on: Early age self-marriage in Nepal

In the rural communities of Nepal, girls marriage are determined by the parents often without informing their daughter. The available literature states 15.1% of girls initiate self-marriage by self-desire and 24.4% are taking decisions by themselves. In recent years, however, as shown by the research in Madhes province in 2019 and in Far-Western region in 2023 by JWAS, the trend of early age self-marriage of girls is increasing. Nepali society does not accept a union between girls and boys before their formal marriage. The general perception of people, as we often hear, is that self-marriage is increasing due to the increased use of social media. However, there is an information gap on the causes and drivers of early age self-marriage.

Therefore, in the context of the increasing trend of early age self-initiated marriage in Nepal, the research will examine the rooted causes of early age self-marriage. The research specifically aims to answer the following questions:

• What are the factors that motivate young girls to initiate self-marriage?
• What are the underlying causes and consequences of early age self-marriage of girls?
• What are the changing contexts that are nurturing the interest of girls for early age self-marriage?

The project is funded by DKA Austria.

See the report of previous research funded by DKA Austria and Kfb Austria:

https://jwas.org.np/media/reports/Generating_program_modules_for_empowering_women_and_girls_in_Sudurpaschi.pdf