Bangles and Bindhi’s:Engaging communities about child marriage in southern Nepal (360G-Wellcome-203089_Z_16_Z)

Child marriage is a major determinant of physical and mental ill health and affects educational and economic attainment. Despite being illegal, it is common in Nepal, having been ingrained over generations, with strong social and financial incentives. Attempts to reduce this have been unsuccessful. Rather than mere education, we plan to work with adults who have married young. We will engage with couples (both men and women) to think deeply about how child marriage has affected their lives and how to tell their story through film. We will create a film together, take it to communities where child marriage is common and show it in large public screenings. A trained facilitator will engage the audience in discussions and help them to reflect on the issues presented. The community members will then have the opportunity to discuss the issues at length in smaller meetings and think about how they may address the issue locally. We hope that by engaging the public in this process, we can help communities take action to prevent child marriage and help both them and us understand the barriers to change.