Child marriage and teenage pregnancy rampant in Baglung despite legal protections

In many cases, legal provisions intended to protect children from child marriage are instead being used to penalise the victims.

Last year, a 15-year-old girl from ward no 3 of Nisikhola Rural Municipality, Baglung, got married without the consent of her parents. At the age of 16, the girl is pregnant now. Four other girls, aged 16 and 17, at the same ward have also gotten married. Three of them are expecting babies now.