Santoshi Rawal, Nepal News Bank
Kathmandu. The practice of child marriage has been reduced to a great extent in cities and accessible places. It is a matter of great happiness for all of us Nepali parents and children that child marriage will be completely eliminated in Nepal within the next few years. The Constitution and laws of Nepal have recognized child marriage as a punishable crime and the initiatives of various organizations have helped to reduce it.
According to a recent study by the government and the National Human Rights Commission and the Nepal Multi-Indicator Survey 2081÷82, the current rate of child marriage in Nepal is 35 percent.
Nepal law considers marriage under the age of 20 to be child marriage, according to which a large number of children are still vulnerable to it.
Child marriage was considered common in the corners of Nepal. Today, it is ending in urban areas, but it has not ended in remote villages. Child marriage has caused great physical, mental and financial challenges to children. Girls still die prematurely while marrying at an early age.
Awareness Short Dialogue Against Child Marriage (Drama)
Characters:
Father and Mother: Sita
Sita: A 16-year-old girl (student)
Ishtamitra (uncle): A neighbor÷friend who comes with a marriage proposal
(Scene: A delightful one from a remote place But the village is plagued by illiteracy. It is the rainy season, there are greenery and paddy fields all around. Dark clouds are gathering in the sky. Inside the house is 16-year-old Muna (Sita). Friends who are pressuring her to marry before the age enter Sita’s house with Koseli in their hands. Friend: (From outside the door) Who is in this house? If there is anyone, please come out!
Father: (coming out happily) Sir, tell me that we are here. Oops! Three guests came to our house this evening! This is amazing! (Laughter)
Friend: Will you sit inside or should we sit outside and talk?
Father: Oh yes, I said as I stepped into the house. Come on, let’s sit inside and talk. You don’t know when it rains.
(Everybody goes in.) The friend hugs and the conversation begins. )
Friend: Look, Samdiji, now without delay, you have to bring your little Muna (daughter) to the courtyard of my house. It’s too old!
Father: Yes, it’s time to plant the seedlings. I have turned 16 after 15 years, now I think I will get married within this year.
Friend: Oh, don’t be late, otherwise you will get old!
(Just then, daughter Sita arrives home from work.) )
Sita: Hello Kaka! Today, we had a guest at our house.
Friend: Yes, my dear, my uncle has come to talk about your future.
(In the evening, the matter of marriage becomes more serious.) Sita understands the matter and starts to say no. Father: Daughter, now that you have grown up, you should get married. They have come to arrange your marriage to his son. Now you have to get married soon.
Sita: No, father! I am thinking of becoming a big man and a nurse. Now that I get married, my studies are ruined. I’m going to sit with you and read, don’t talk about marriage now, please
Friend: No daughter, why nurse? The doctor will teach me, but I must marry my son.
Sita: Uncle, don’t talk like that now! I am young, I have just turned 16. I don’t want to get married right now.
Friend: Where is that, child? When you reach 17, the girl goes into hiding!
Sita: Bua! I want to study and serve the society. In this village, the practice of marrying at an early age has left our society behind. The law also sets the age of marriage at 20 years.
Mother: Daughter, this is a custom made after the law. The sooner you get married, the better. Daughters must go to other houses, why delay?
Sita: (Crying) Mother, don’t say that, I will never tarnish your reputation.
I will do good work, this is my promise. Let me read it.
Mother: The daughter must be sent home, the girl will be sad if she delays. I got married at the age of 13!
Sita: (Angry and crying) What did you achieve by getting married at the age of 13?
What was the benefit? How weak are you? You’re just 35 years old, but you look like a 70-year-old woman. How many abortions have taken place while giving birth, how many babies have died! In the end, only my brother and I survived. How much sin do you feel when those young babies have to die without stepping on foot? It’s all because you don’t have a mature body. And you are still proudly saying that I got married at the age of 13!
(Sita starts crying a lot and goes to her room.) The father reminds his friend and says)
Father: You go now, I will make the Samdi. I remind my daughter to prepare for the wedding within a week.
(Scene: The next morning, Sita again tries to convince her parents.) )
Sita: Father-mother! If you don’t understand me, who will? The sister of the house had to die in the course of giving birth to a child less than a year after marriage! Marriage at an early age weakens the body physically and kills you in the maternity home. In school, Sir-Ma’am has also taught the terrible consequences of child marriage! My situation will be the same tomorrow, isn’t it, mother?
Mother: Daughter, the whole village will talk to you! “I haven’t married my daughter yet,” he would joke. We want your well-being!
Sita: Mother, father! After many children, we are the only two living children. If you love us, don’t talk about marriage now. When I get older, I get married on my own.
(Sita goes outside but listens to her parents from outside.)
Father: My daughter is right, but will my friend be upset? Isn’t it good to get married on time?
Mother: The daughter’s point is good, but what will society say tomorrow in this village? Instead, get married, if you don’t agree for a day or two, then you will get used to it!
(Outside, Sita is shocked to hear this and says crying)
Sita: My parents have become my enemies! Whom should I appeal to now? God! In my village, some sisters are fighting with death, some have lost their lives. Tomorrow the same thing will happen to me!
(Scene: Due to the strong stubbornness and pressure of her parents, Sita has to surrender in the end and her child marriage is done without her will. After marriage, she gets pregnant at a young age. At the age of taking care of her, she has to take care of all the responsibilities of the house. There was no nutritious food, no health check-up. Husbands are forced to go abroad to earn. When she goes into labour, she is taken to a nearby general health post, where she faints due to excessive bleeding and dies prematurely. )
‘Does our society still want the same horrific outcome of child marriage?’
Even today, heinous crimes like child marriage in remote villages are pushing many adolescent girls to the brink of death. Although the law completely prohibits child marriage, it is yet to be effectively implemented.
The rules written on paper should no longer be limited to the center but should be strictly implemented in the remote villages. Strict action should be taken against anyone who gets married as per the law so that no Sita has to lose her life untimely.
प्रतिक्रिया दिनुहोस्
