Bardiya, Nepal – Unlike most girls her age, Bali never enjoyed singing and dancing. Instead, she was fascinated by cars and dreamed of gripping the steering wheel, driving away from her village and leaving it behind in the rearview mirror.
However, her dream was shattered on her sixth birthday when her parents sold her into servitude.
For five years, Bali scrubbed dishes, cleaned floors, and worked in the fields for a family of a higher caste. The caste system, deeply rooted in South Asia, is a centuries-old social hierarchy that continues to shape society. Despite modern laws against discrimination, those from lower castes often face entrenched bias.
In exchange for Bali’s labor, her parents were allowed to rent a patch of land in Bardiya district, 540 kilometers (336 miles) west of Kathmandu, where they could grow and sell produce, splitting the profits 50-50 with their landlord.
At 13, Bali was married to an electrician six years her senior. By 14, she was pregnant with her only daughter.
Now 32, Bali lives in a one-room home in Bardiya. Speaking to Al Jazeera, she shared her greatest wish: for her 17-year-old daughter to stay in school.
“I cannot watch her get trapped in an early marriage like I did,” she said.
Bali’s daughter is among millions of adolescent girls in Nepal who women’s rights activists fear could face increased harm if a proposed law to lower the legal marriage age from 20 to 18 is passed.
In 2017, as part of its goal to end child marriage by 2030, the Nepalese government raised the minimum marriage age from 18 to 20. While Nepalese citizens can vote at 18, the higher marriage age aimed to ensure young women complete their education and make more informed choices. For the first time, violators could face up to three years in prison and fines of up to 10,000 Nepalese rupees ($73).
In a country with weak legal enforcement, the move also sought to send a broader message to conservative society: women benefit when they are not pushed into early marriage.
However, on January 15, 2025, a parliamentary sub-committee recommended lowering the legal marriage age back to 18, sparking national debate. The committee argued that the change would “reduce legal complexities and reflect the social realities of rural Nepal.”
Supporters of the law claim it would prevent men from being imprisoned for marrying out of love. Critics, including human rights groups and women’s advocates, argue the recommendation prioritizes men’s interests over gender equality.
Though outlawed since 1963, child marriage remains widespread in Nepal, particularly in rural areas, where 78% of the population lives. According to UNICEF, there are over 5 million child brides in Nepal, with 37% of women under 30 married before turning 18.
Globally, child marriage is driven by complex factors. In South Asia—the region with the highest number of child brides—it is deeply tied to tradition and social norms.
While Nepal has seen a decline in child marriage over the past decade, the rate of decline (7%) lags behind the South Asian average (15%), according to the Child Marriage Data Portal, an initiative supported by several governments and the European Union. Nonprofits and campaigners say their efforts to end child marriage in Nepal have been hindered by the country’s unique economic and social challenges.
A generation of suffering began in 1996 with Nepal’s decade-long civil war, which fractured communities. In 2015, an earthquake killed nearly 9,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless. Six months later, an Indian blockade put 3 million Nepalese children under 5 at risk of death due to shortages of fuel, food, and medicine. The COVID-19 pandemic further devastated Nepal’s tourism industry, which accounts for 6.7% of its GDP, affecting nearly 1 million jobs.
Lifeline for Young Girls
Child marriage in Nepal often strips girls of control over their futures, cutting off education and employment opportunities while increasing the risk of physical and psychological abuse.
Bali is reminded of the consequences of her early marriage every time she looks at her daughter.
“When I gave birth, my daughter was yellow and weighed just 4 pounds [1.8 kg],” she told Al Jazeera. “I later found out my body wasn’t producing enough hemoglobin during pregnancy. Like me, my daughter tires easily now and needs daily medication.”
Mina Kumari Parajuli, regional manager of Plan International, an NGO working on child rights in Nepal since 1978, said child brides are “at a much higher risk” of early pregnancy, which can lead to complications like malnutrition, anemia, and higher rates of maternal and infant mortality.
In 2021, Bali enrolled in a vocational training program offered by Plan International, where she learned to drive. After obtaining her license, she trained to operate heavy-goods vehicles (HGVs).
“I was nervous but excited because I knew I could do it,” she said.
Now, Bali works at a hauling company, transporting tons of boulders for construction daily. Her job helps fund her daughter’s medication.
“I am the only woman who has ever worked as a driver at the company, and I’m so proud of it. I get to drive for a living now!”
Suffering in Silence
Other women, like 18-year-old Khima, continue to suffer in silence.
Khima’s mother recalled how her daughter loved school, often ready to go long before her brothers. But in January 2023, at her mother’s urging, Khima married a 27-year-old man she had met only once.
“I thought she would have a better chance in life if she married,” her mother said.
Khima hopes to finish her education but is unsure if her husband’s family will allow it.
Child marriages like Khima’s are often negotiated by relatives, reducing the financial burden on the girl’s family while providing labor for her in-laws.
Parajuli noted that early-married girls often become socially isolated, making it difficult for NGOs to reach them.
Anjali, 22, was 14 when she entered a “love marriage” with a man from a higher caste. As a Dalit—the lowest rung of Nepal’s caste system—she was effectively imprisoned by her in-laws for five years, forced to work in their fields and forbidden from seeing friends or returning to school.
Anjali and her daughter were not allowed inside her in-laws’ home, instead sleeping in a roofless hut in the fields.
“During monsoon season, water gushed through the shelter, leaving me shivering until morning,” she recalled.
Last year, Anjali took out a loan to build a small stone house with two rooms, which she calls her “palace.”
“After not seeing my husband for two years and enduring everything myself, I have peace here,” she said.
A New Generation with Hope
In some rural areas, young girls and boys are striving for change.
Plan International and Banke Unesco, a grassroots organization, have been training local authorities, law enforcement, religious leaders, schools, and youth groups to identify and prevent child marriages while supporting at-risk girls.
Mahesh Nepali, the project lead in Bardiya, told Al Jazeera that child marriage rates in the region have dropped from 58% to 22% since 2015.
He criticized the proposed law change, saying it would “undermine all the work we’ve done to raise awareness about the dangers of early marriage.”
Swostika, 17, is a member of Champions of Change, a Plan International campaign group combating gender-based violence in marginalized communities. Despite threats, she and her team remain defiant.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Swostika launched a social media campaign inviting hundreds of girls to sign a declaration against child marriage.
“Real change is happening,” she said. “I believe the next generation won’t face the same problems we did. We just need to keep fighting.”
Family names of victims and their relatives have been removed to protect their privacy.
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