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ABSTRACT: Despite the general increase in age at marriage of women in Nepal, early marriage persists in the Terai region, in particular, among many sub-populations of Terai-origin people. This study explores the patterns and determinants of age at first marriage of girls in Nepal. It had three specific objectives: i) to assess the extent and level of early marriage in Nepal, ii) to investigate the reasons for persistence of early marriage among some families in the Terai, and iii) to understand the mechanism of the dowry system, cross-border marriage migration, and ethnic mix, and their impact on age at marriage of girls in the Terai. Six major research questions and nine hypotheses were formulated to achieve the objectives of this study. Five major data sets were analysed: the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2006, and Nepal Adolescents and Young Adults Survey 2000 were used for the analysis of patterns and determinants of age at marriage of women in Nepal. The Nepal Living Standards Survey 2003-04 and the Child Marriage Study 2004 were analysed to demystify the mechanisms and factors associated with dowry in Nepal. Census 2001 data were also used at various points along with available ethnographic information. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses were deployed. Empirical analyses of data show three main patterns of age at marriage of women. First, early marriage especially prepubertal marriage of girls is declining in Nepal with a gradual increase in marriage age. Despite this decline, some of the Terai caste groups in particular, still marry their daughters before their fifteenth birthday. Second, the majority of girls among Terai caste and ethnic groups, Muslims and Hills lower-castes are still married between 15 and 17 years of age, that is, below 18, the legal age at marriage, which reveals the persistence of early marriage among these groups. Third, marriage is still universal and mandatory among women in Nepal. Most of the marriages among women are occurring between ages 15 and 24. Bivariate and multivariate analyses reveal that age of girls, rural-urban place of residence (at birth), education of girls and their mothers, age at menarche, caste/ethnicity and religion, and dowry were significantly associated with age at marriage. The prevalence of dowry among the Terai caste groups, compounded with sociocultural factors has a strong influence on the marriage timing of girls. Although geographic region was found to be associated with age at marriage both in bivariate and multivariate analyses, women from Terai caste-groups (Terai-origin) had much higher hazard of marrying younger than Hills caste/ethnic groups. At present Terai population represents people of three major types - Indigenous people of the Terai, Indian-origin people who migrated in different time periods, and Hills-origin people who migrated after the 1950s, so the Terai category seems inadequate and misleading in capturing demographic transitions including age at marriage and its determinants. The differences in marriage-related sociocultural norms and traditions between people of Terai-origin and of Hills/Mountains origin and the prevalence of dowry in the Terai further support this argument. |
