Sharmila G., 14, eloped at age 12 and married an 18-year-old man. At the time this picture was taken she was seven months pregnant. She said that when rumors spread in her village about her relationship with her then-boyfriend, her parents tried to separate them, so they eloped. Sharmila said she regrets marrying early and leaving school. She said she had no knowledge of pregnancy and reproductive health or family planning, and wishes she had not gotten pregnant. April 25, 2016
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch A girl plays in a public park in Patan, Nepal. Thirty-seven percent of girls in Nepal marry before age 18, and 10 percent are married by age 15. The minimum age of marriage under Nepali law is 20 years of age. April 24, 2016.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch Tilmaya M., 18, eloped and married a 20-year-old man when she was 15. Her husband comes from her village in Chitwan, Nepal. Tilmaya said when she was 11 years old, her father took her out of school and sent her to Pokhara to work as a domestic worker. April 11, 2016.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch A five-year-old girl sits in a nursery school, which she is attending with a scholarship funded by a private sponsor. Quality education provides protection from child marriage—girls who are in school are less likely to marry. April 12, 2016.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch Lalita B., 17, had an arranged marriage at the age of 12 with a 37-year-old man. She became pregnant soon after marriage, and two of her newborns died. Lalita’s third child survived. Lalita’s husband abandoned her in 2015 and married another woman. April 25, 2016.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch 17-year-old Anjana M., married at 14, sits outside her home with her two-year-old daughter Ishita. Anjana’s aunt and uncle pressured her to marry her husband because of rumors about her relationship with him. Anjana’s father sent her to Pokhara when she was seven years old to do domestic work. April 11, 2016.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch Pavitra M., 16, eloped and married at the age of 15 to escape extreme poverty at her parent's home. Pavitra now lives with her in-laws, and cooks for all the members of the large family. Her husband lives in India and works as a cook.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch Ganga M., 17, sits inside her home in Kailali, Nepal. Ganga had an arranged marriage at the age of 16 and was five months pregnant when this photograph was taken. Her husband works as a cook in India. April 25, 2016.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch Lalita B., 17, with her mother Rajmati B. and daughter outside their home in Kailali, Nepal. Lalita had an arranged marriage at age 12 with a 37-year-old man. She became pregnant soon after marriage, and two of her newborns died. Lalita's third child survived. Lalita’s husband abandoned her in 2015 and married another woman. April 25, 2016.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch Sarita M., 17, with her infant daughter at her home in Chitwan, Nepal. Sarita eloped and married an 18-year-old man at the age of 15. Her husband works as a laborer in India.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch Nine-year-old Selina T. helps her friend Bipana L., 11, wash dishes and utensils in Lalitpur, Nepal where both girls live and work. Both girls work in a brick kiln to help their parents. Bipana attended school for only one day; Selina is still in school, but works during her school break. Child labor is common in Nepal, with about 40 percent of children working. Two-thirds of working children are below the age of 14, and half are working in hazardous occupations likely to interfere with their education. Girls are more likely to work than boys (48 percent versus 36 percent) and 60 percent of children in hazardous work are girls.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch Pavitra M., 16, and Kalpana T., 19, both eloped and married at the age of 15 to get away from extreme poverty at their parents' homes. Both of their husbands live and work in India. April 25, 2016.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch Sharmila G., 14, and Sharda D., 15, stand together in Kailali, Nepal. Sharda is still in school and does not want to marry, like many of the other girls in her community. Sharmila eloped and married at 12 and was seven months pregnant when this photograph was taken. Sharmila said she regrets marrying early and is not ready to have a child.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch Manju M., 16, Tilmaya M., 18, and Sangeeta M., 19, wait with their children outside of a doctor’s office in Chitwan, Nepal. The parents of Manju M. arranged her marriage to a 19-year-old man when she was 15. Tilmaya M. eloped and married a 20-year-old man at the age of 15. Sangeeta M. had an arranged marriage with a 20-year-old man at the age of 17. April 12, 2016.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch
Nepal has the third highest rate of child marriage in Asia, with 37 percent of girls marrying before age 18, and 10 percent marrying before age 15, despite the fact that the minimum age of marriage is 20 under Nepali law. Child marriages across the country often result in denial of education, serious health risks from early pregnancy, poverty and domestic abuse. While Nepal’s government has taken some actions to prevent child marriage, a long-promised national plan to end child marriage by 2030 has met with delays.
