(加德满都)-人权观察今天发布报告表示,尼泊尔 政府迄未采取充分有效措施消除童婚,导致全国各地女童与男童均遭深重伤害。2014年7月,尼泊尔政府宣称将在2020年之前消除童婚。2016年,该期限被延至2030年 。但政府迄未采取必要的具体措施以达成任一目标。
这份118页报告,《我们的欢乐童年:尼泊尔童婚问题 》,记录导致童婚的经济与社会压力,以及童婚的悲惨后果。尼泊尔的童婚率高居亚洲第三,百分之37的女童结婚时未满18岁,百分之10未满15岁,但尼泊尔法律规定的女男最低结婚年龄均为20岁。估计有百分之11的男孩结婚时未满18岁。尼泊尔政府为消除童婚做了些许努力,但承诺已久的国家计划却屡遭延宕。
“许多尼泊尔儿童──不分女男──因童婚被剥夺光明前途,”人权观察妇女权利高级研究员海瑟・巴尔(Heather Barr )说。“尼泊尔政府已承诺改革,但全国各地大城小镇仍一切如昨。”
人权观察在全国各地访谈149人,包括104名已婚儿童和结婚时尚未成年的青年。他们来自不同族群、宗教和种姓背景,但大多属于尼泊尔贱民阶级或原住民社群,反映童婚更多发生在弱势和底层社区。人权观察也访谈多名维权人士、服务提供者、医疗工作者、教育工作者、警察和学者专家。
Sharmila G., 14, eloped at age 12 and married an 18-year-old man. At the time this picture was taken she was seven months pregnant. She said that when rumors spread in her village about her relationship with her then-boyfriend, her parents tried to separate them, so they eloped. Sharmila said she regrets marrying early and leaving school. She said she had no knowledge of pregnancy and reproductive health or family planning, and wishes she had not gotten pregnant. April 25, 2016
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch
A girl plays in a public park in Patan, Nepal. Thirty-seven percent of girls in Nepal marry before age 18, and 10 percent are married by age 15. The minimum age of marriage under Nepali law is 20 years of age. April 24, 2016.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch
Tilmaya M., 18, eloped and married a 20-year-old man when she was 15. Her husband comes from her village in Chitwan, Nepal. Tilmaya said when she was 11 years old, her father took her out of school and sent her to Pokhara to work as a domestic worker. April 11, 2016.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch
A five-year-old girl sits in a nursery school, which she is attending with a scholarship funded by a private sponsor. Quality education provides protection from child marriage—girls who are in school are less likely to marry. April 12, 2016.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch
Lalita B., 17, had an arranged marriage at the age of 12 with a 37-year-old man. She became pregnant soon after marriage, and two of her newborns died. Lalita’s third child survived. Lalita’s husband abandoned her in 2015 and married another woman. April 25, 2016.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch
17-year-old Anjana M., married at 14, sits outside her home with her two-year-old daughter Ishita. Anjana’s aunt and uncle pressured her to marry her husband because of rumors about her relationship with him. Anjana’s father sent her to Pokhara when she was seven years old to do domestic work. April 11, 2016.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch
Pavitra M., 16, eloped and married at the age of 15 to escape extreme poverty at her parent's home. Pavitra now lives with her in-laws, and cooks for all the members of the large family. Her husband lives in India and works as a cook.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch
Ganga M., 17, sits inside her home in Kailali, Nepal. Ganga had an arranged marriage at the age of 16 and was five months pregnant when this photograph was taken. Her husband works as a cook in India. April 25, 2016.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch
Lalita B., 17, with her mother Rajmati B. and daughter outside their home in Kailali, Nepal. Lalita had an arranged marriage at age 12 with a 37-year-old man. She became pregnant soon after marriage, and two of her newborns died. Lalita's third child survived. Lalita’s husband abandoned her in 2015 and married another woman. April 25, 2016.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch
Sarita M., 17, with her infant daughter at her home in Chitwan, Nepal. Sarita eloped and married an 18-year-old man at the age of 15. Her husband works as a laborer in India.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch
Nine-year-old Selina T. helps her friend Bipana L., 11, wash dishes and utensils in Lalitpur, Nepal where both girls live and work. Both girls work in a brick kiln to help their parents. Bipana attended school for only one day; Selina is still in school, but works during her school break. Child labor is common in Nepal, with about 40 percent of children working. Two-thirds of working children are below the age of 14, and half are working in hazardous occupations likely to interfere with their education. Girls are more likely to work than boys (48 percent versus 36 percent) and 60 percent of children in hazardous work are girls.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch
Pavitra M., 16, and Kalpana T., 19, both eloped and married at the age of 15 to get away from extreme poverty at their parents' homes. Both of their husbands live and work in India. April 25, 2016.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch
Sharmila G., 14, and Sharda D., 15, stand together in Kailali, Nepal. Sharda is still in school and does not want to marry, like many of the other girls in her community. Sharmila eloped and married at 12 and was seven months pregnant when this photograph was taken. Sharmila said she regrets marrying early and is not ready to have a child.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch
Manju M., 16, Tilmaya M., 18, and Sangeeta M., 19, wait with their children outside of a doctor’s office in Chitwan, Nepal. The parents of Manju M. arranged her marriage to a 19-year-old man when she was 15. Tilmaya M. eloped and married a 20-year-old man at the age of 15. Sangeeta M. had an arranged marriage with a 20-year-old man at the age of 17. April 12, 2016.
© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch
尼泊尔自1963年即已立法禁止童婚,但人权观察发现,警察很少采取行动阻止童婚或提出控告,尤其当无人举报时几乎从不介入。政府官员通常允许童婚登记注册,即便童婚是犯罪行动。
人权观察发现,贫穷、缺乏教育机会、童工、社会压力和嫁妆习俗,都是导致童婚的因素。研究人员同时发现儿童自愿性“恋爱婚姻”增加的危险趋势,最小只有12到13岁,其中许多是因为贫困或家庭虐待、试图避免被强迫童婚而嫁给更差的伴侣、缺乏避孕的知识和管道、或者社会压力。童婚对儿童及其家属造成的伤害包括:剥夺教育机会;对健康的严重影响,例如过早怀孕致死;以及家庭虐待,如暴力、性暴力和遗弃。
许多尼泊尔儿童──不分女男──因童婚被剥夺光明前途。尼泊尔政府已承诺改革,但全国各地大城小镇仍一切如昨。
海瑟・巴尔
妇女权利高级研究员
由于政府执法不力,童婚成为贫穷家庭常见的纾困机制。当父母无力抚养孩子,可能就会设法把女儿嫁掉,只为让她们有口饭吃。即便有“免费”教育,许多穷人家的女孩辍学打工,因为家里付不起附带费用,或因为政府并未强制儿童上学。女童结婚常常是辍学的直接后果。
社会压力造成童婚在某些社区不仅被接受,而且是被期待的,包括许多社区期望女孩在初经之后,甚至之前,就该尽快成亲。缺乏有关性与生殖健康或有关避孕用品的信息,导致儿童可能因发生或担心发生婚前怀孕而匆忙结婚。
已婚女童经常迅速怀孕,而且被期待如此,但过早和频繁怀孕对她们的健康造成严重影响。新生儿夭折在幼龄怀孕的情况下更为常见。许多受访女童表示,她们遭受暴力和性暴力。
“我被安排结婚,我不能有意见──我也不能决定何时怀孕,”现年21岁的努丹(Nutan C.)说。16岁就结婚的她,已是4岁女儿和1岁半儿子的母亲,接受人权观察访问时还怀著六个月身孕。
2014年在英国伦敦召开的国际“女童峰会”,尼泊尔妇幼与社会福利部长宣示将在2020年底前消除童婚现象。到了2016年3月,尼泊尔政府在加德满都主办自己国内的“女童峰会”时,期限被延到2030年,与联合国可持续发展目标的结束日期相同。
尼国政府曾与联合国、非政府团体和其他伙伴研拟出一份《国家消除童婚策略》(National Strategy to End Child Marriage),并称其已为更详细且附带实施预算的《国家行动计划》奠下基础。然而,研拟《行动计划》的进度非常缓慢,而《策略》又缺乏足够细节说明在2030年之前消除童婚的具体步骤。
在村一级,几乎看不到政府为消除童婚或减轻童婚伤害采取的作为。少数提升民众意识的项目大都是非政府组织在做。就学率通常很低,尤其是女童,而且政府并未强制就学。许多青少年无法取得有关性与生殖健康等学校应该教导的信息。官方卫生机构虽提供免费的家庭计划服务,但许多年轻人──不论已婚与否──并不知道这种服务的存在,或因距离、污名或家庭压力而难以利用。
“我们很惊讶,有那么多受访女童因为婴孩早夭而陷于哀恸,”巴尔说。“这些故事令人痛心──而且通常是可以预防的。尼泊尔若要消除童婚,必须进行下列改革:国内相关法律;警察和地方政府的应对;生育与结婚登记;学校;以及医疗照护。政府已经承诺改变,而改变必须从现在开始。”