Girls from poor families still at high risk of child marriage: report

Although child marriage has declined in Nepal over the past decade, girls from extremely poor families remain at high risk, according to a report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

UNICEF released the advocacy report, titled "A Decade of Data and a Call to End Child Marriage in Nepal," to mark International Day of the Girl Child.

According to the report, the proportion of women aged 20 to 24 who married before the age of 18 dropped from 37 percent in 2004 to 28 percent in 2024-25. The proportion of girls married before the age of 15 fell by half, from 10 percent to 5 percent over the same period. The report also shows that girls' access to school has increased during this time.

According to Ram Bahadur Chand, a program officer at the National Child Rights Council, the average age at first marriage was 17 in 2001, and has now risen to 20 years and 6 months in 2024-25.

The United Nations has prioritized the theme "End Child Marriage, Invest in Girls' Rights" for this year's Day of the Girl Child. International estimates suggest about 650 million women and girls alive today were married in childhood.

Article 39 of Nepal's constitution bars forcing children into child marriage. Section 173 of the National Penal (Code) Act, 2074, makes marriage before the age of 20 punishable.