Awareness classes and training are being organized for parents and guardians, as part of the various initiatives being taken to stop child marriage.
The latest initiative has been taken as the various campaigns organized to stop the practice of child marriage did not give success as much as expected, according to child marriage minimization facilitator Tirtha Acharya.
Child marriage continues to be practiced due to poverty and lack of awareness. As a result of which, gender-based violence continues unabated.
The training and education for parents have been initiated as a pilot project in Khungri, Kotgaon and Libang of the district, where a high number of child marriage is reported, Acharya said. The parents are being familiarized with reproductive health, adolescent needs and the existing regulations that prohibit child marriage.
As per latest statistics, of the total marriages that take place in Rolpa, 65 percent are reportedly child marriage.
Nepal Red Cross Society, Ropla with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is running child marriage mitigation programmes in the district.
