On December 31, 2024, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli took the first pledge with survivors to support the nationwide ‘Child Marriage Free Nepal’ campaign. The campaign is led by the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens and supported by Backward Society Education (BASE), Nepal and Just Rights for Children (JRC). Just Rights for Children, one of the largest networks of civil society organisations working for child protection internationally, aims to end child marriage in Nepal by 2030. In this connection, the Post’s Aarati Ray talked to JRC founder and noted child rights activist Bhuwan Ribhu.

What motivated you to support the ‘Child Marriage Free Nepal’ campaign and partner with civil society organisations like BASE in Nepal?

We, as Just Rights for Children, envision a child marriage-free world. To realise this vision, we must focus on countries where the prevalence of child marriage is acute. With a prevalence rate of 35 percent and 5.4 million girl victims of child marriage in the country, Nepal has the second-highest child marriage rate in South Asia.

Nepal is also a country with robust laws. What is needed is a push for the implementation of these laws at scale for the elimination of child marriage. Child marriage is nothing but impending child rape and has no place in today’s Nepal or today’s world.

Backward Society Education (BASE) has been working effectively and consistently for child protection and child rights for years. Moreover, their focus on grassroots activism and implementation of laws makes them the ideal partner to work across Nepal at scale.

And under the leadership of Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary, we hope that civil society organisations, faith leaders and other stakeholders can come together and assist the efforts of the government of Nepal at all levels. What has been initiated by the prime minister needs to reach out to every child, every parent, every teacher and every community to realise the vision of a child marriage-free Nepal.

We must remember that this is more than just a campaign; it is a promise to generations to come—a promise that no child will ever be forced to trade their childhood for a marriage, and every girl will have the opportunity to grow, learn, and lead. Together, we can turn this vision into reality.

As for why now, my answer to this question is a question, “If not now, then when?” One child married, one child abused, one child raped in any part of the world is one child too many. We have waited far too long to let this crime thrive as the biggest human rights violation—whether under the guise of tradition, culture, or faith. Now is the time for us to take a stand for the rule of justice and implementation of laws, and create a deterrent against the crime of child marriage for prevention, protection and prosecution.

Also, we are five years away from the Sustainable Development Goal 5.3. This is an opportune time to have a strategic plan in place and make all efforts to eliminate child marriage by 2030.

Nepal has laws against child marriage, yet the practice persists. Based on your global activism, what key enforcement gaps need to be addressed, and how can they be bridged? Additionally, given Nepal’s socio-cultural similarities with India and Bangladesh, what lessons can it draw from them?

Nepal has some of the most stringent child protection laws and is now demonstrating political commitment at all levels. This commitment needs to translate into decisive action on the ground, and it requires the implementation of laws, not only of child marriage but also of other stringent laws that deal with any kind of sexual abuse in the form of marriage.

The policies exist; the implementation, institution building, investments in capacity building and knowledge are now essential. The ecosystem of child marriage needs to be broken. Faith leaders need to come together and refuse to marry children. The caterers, hotels, and the people who are participating in child marriage—all need to take a firm stand and report any impending child marriage to the government.

Action needs to be undertaken to physically stop and prevent child marriages. India has shown the path to the world in 2024. On one hand, over 200,000 child marriages were stopped by various state governments and law enforcement agencies; on the other, there were landmark steps undertaken by state governments like Assam to increase prosecution. This prosecution at scale has resulted in 81 percent decline in child marriages in Assam.

Moreover, the Supreme Court of India gave a landmark judgment in a case filed by one of the JRC partners. That established the accountability framework for panchayats, police and all child protection and enforcement agencies. Moreover, the government of India launched the ‘Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat’ (Child Marriage Free Bharat) Campaign on November 27, 2024, focussing on high prevalence districts and the entire country to make people aware by encouraging them to pledge against child marriage.

Over 250 million people joined the campaign and took a pledge. The Just Rights for Children NGO partners are working tirelessly in 416 districts with a focussed approach to prevent and stop child marriages and ensure rehabilitation to all children. These actions are pivotal in the global fight against child marriage, and I believe that 2024 may be the tipping point in the fight against child marriage globally.

Now the launch of ‘Child Marriage Free Nepal’ marks a transformative shift in our collective fight against this deep-rooted problem. The lessons from India provide valuable insights for Nepal. By 2030, Nepal will stand as a global example, showing the world that ending child marriage is not only possible but inevitable when a nation stands together with purpose and resolve.

Many of Nepal’s provinces are implementing region-specific laws, such as the Girl Child Protection and Empowerment Act, 2081 in Madhesh. Do you think a province-specific approach is more effective than a national framework?

A national framework may define the policy, but it must reach every child. So, the provinces, municipalities and village councils need to come together. Every temple, school and market must collaborate. Led by the central government, the end of child marriage requires interventions at all levels and scale. The macro-level national framework must reach a micro-level child, and every prevention of child marriage and rehabilitation must guide the national framework. In any case, the implementation of law and prosecution can only be done at the provincial and local levels.

You have said that child marriage equates to “rape and a crime.” How do you suggest we sensitively communicate this harsh reality to communities that normalise the practice?

Child marriage is a crime, and sexual abuse of a child under the guise of marriage is rape. This crime, disguised as custom and tradition, must be treated as such. This message has to be communicated loud and clear. I am sure that if those who enjoy the wedding feast at a child marriage understood that the celebration is for a child’s impending rape and abuse, no one in Nepal would allow such a crime to occur. This internal transformation will pave the way for Nepal to be free from child marriage.

Widespread public awareness through pledges at scale, strengthening partnerships, and driving change through prevention, protection, and prosecution—we can see the much-needed change in the way this crime is perceived and accepted. Behaviour change can only happen when people understand that what they are doing is a crime, and this message can only be spread by enforcing a legal deterrent.

Simultaneously, the large-scale awareness campaign being launched today should be seen as a precursor to inform people that if they continue to indulge in this crime or participate in it, they can also be prosecuted.

During your recent Nepal visit, you engaged with policymakers and met the prime minister. How would you describe the prime minister's response, and what outcomes do you anticipate? How can the Nepal government address funding challenges to sustain long-term child rights campaigns?

When I met the prime minister of Nepal, I was inspired by his determination for the children of his country. Transformative, decisive actions can only be taken with a political will. And not only the prime minister but the will of Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens, Kishor Sah Sudi, the National Child Rights Council and above all else, the steely determination in the eyes of the children, who are survivors of child marriages, that what has happened to them should not happen to any other child, has been a source of great inspiration for me personally.

The children have spoken. We must share and respond. And I am very happy that this campaign is getting the focus from the highest offices in the country. I am grateful to the prime minister for signing the first pledge to create a child marriage-free Nepal. He has shown the way to all political leaders of the world.

Advocacy campaigns often face resistance in traditional communities. How do you ensure cultural sensitivity while challenging entrenched norms like child marriage?

The message that child marriage is a crime has to percolate to the oldest of men and the youngest of children in the farthest corners of Nepal. Faith leaders, who hold significant influence in communities, can be champions of change by advocating age-proof verification and rejecting underage marriages. As important is the active participation of children. It empowers them to advocate for their rights at the societal level. Teachers, doctors, local representatives—all need to come together and child participation is the key. The girls must come forward and so should the leaders of the society.

Do you believe in incentivising families to delay marriage through conditional cash transfers or other schemes? Have such programs been successful elsewhere?

Incentivizing families has proven effective in delaying child marriage. For example, in India the Kerala government’s Ponvakku scheme awards a whistleblower with cash prize, Uttar Pradesh government is running Kanya Sumangala scheme, Assam government has Nijut Moina scheme to provide a monthly stipend to girl students, West Bengal government’s Kanyashree Prakalpa initiative—all such schemes are bolstering this fight to end child marriage with the participation of family, community and government.

Nepal’s proximity to India has made it vulnerable to trafficking. How can Nepal and India collaborate more effectively to tackle cross-border child marriages?

Child trafficking is an organised crime that transcends borders, so it is important that both countries, along with the rest of the world, tackle this crime with a global, borderless response mechanism. Both India and Nepal need to create a joint framework of action globally where data and actionable intelligence on traffickers are shared. This will result in identifying the money trail as well as ensuring rehabilitation to victims wherever they might be. This would further assist the trial processes and ensure convictions for the traffickers.

I have been personally involved in anti-trafficking efforts in Nepal since 2002 when I led the first research on trafficking of girls in Indian circuses. This case filed before the Supreme Court of India led to trafficking being defined in India for the first time. Between India and Nepal, in the past two years, JRC partners have rescued over 50,000 victims. We have prosecuted traffickers with properties in Nepal. So both countries need to act and work together.

With only six years left to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, how do you propose accelerating progress in Nepal? What specific challenges do you see against the race to end child marriage?

Nepal is the land of Holy Pashupatinath, a place where resilience, courage, and bravery are not just stories of folklore but a living reality. The people of Nepal have conquered the highest peaks in the world, standing victorious atop Mount Everest.

There is no reason why this same spirit cannot lead Nepal to scale yet another peak—one once thought insurmountable: the elimination of child marriage by 2030.

The key to eliminating child marriage in Nepal rests on whole-of-society participation and whole-of-government accountability, creating an ecosystem where every child’s freedom and dignity are safeguarded. The commitment shown by the prime minister of Nepal must trickle down and be reflected at the grassroots level to ensure the complete elimination of child marriage. With collective commitment, Nepal can be a global beacon of hope and progress.

The campaign has begun with the pledges but must be complemented with large-scale prosecution and rehabilitation of children to create a legal deterrent. The forces of love, intention and law must work simultaneously to ensure justice for children and the prevention of the crime of child marriage to make a child marriage-free Nepal.