At 15: Savitra and Sita
Guided by her mother’s experience with child marriage and menstrual restrictions, a young girl in western Nepal is learning skills to build a better future for herself
Surkhet, Nepal: “Things are easier now.”
This is Sita talking about the current state of menstrual restrictions in her community in Surkhet District in western Nepal. While not entirely eliminated, the stigma has lessened significantly, she says.
“Even at school, they give us sanitary pads when we need them,” she shares.
Most notably, gone are the days of being forced to practice Chhaupadi, a form of menstrual taboo where women had to isolate themselves away from the home, living in cattle sheds, when menstruating.
The practice has since been abolished, but for many women – including Sita’s mother, Savitra – cruel memories persist of feeling afraid and unsafe.
UNICEF Nepal/2025/MMalla
“It was a terrifying experience being out there on your own...You were always afraid of harassment from boys, and there was also the risk of getting bitten by snakes."
Another practice that shaped the lives of girls in Savitra’s time was child marriage. Savitra remembers how, once a girl turned 12, families would start discussing her marriage.
Savitra herself was married at 15, the same age Sita is now. The marriage marked the end of her education at grade 8, leaving her to shoulder household responsibilities and childcare.
"Girls were not meant to stay with their families for long. They would be married off,” she says
“If you were a boy, your parents would send you to school for sure, but for girls, they preferred you stayed home to do the chores,” Savitra reflects.
“I was too distracted, having to cut grass, fetch firewood, look after the cattle, and take the goats to graze. There was no time for studies.”
Having grown up witnessing these regrets and seeing her mother struggle, Sita is more determined than ever not to marry young. This has been reinforced by her participation in the Rupantaran life skills programme, developed by UNICEF and UNFPA in collaboration with the Government of Nepal.
The programme equips adolescents aged 10 to 19 with essential knowledge and skills to navigate their lives and make informed choices about their futures.
Through Rupantaran, Sita has received training in social and financial skills, covering topics like communication, negotiation, self-assessment, and physical and mental well-being. The sessions also focus on gender equality, human rights and preventing child marriage.
Savitra has noticed positive changes in her daughter since she started attending the sessions.
“Before, Sita would lose her temper quickly and fight with her siblings. She wouldn’t listen to anyone."
" Now, she’s much more thoughtful. She’ll ask me to explain things so we can understand each other better, and she explains herself, too,” Savitra says.
She admires Sita’s ability to connect with people and is proud of her academic performance. “She’s doing well in her studies, and her teachers tell me she is the most quick-witted in her class,” she says.
UNICEF Nepal/2025/MMalla
“I hope she continues to study hard and becomes an honest person.”
When asked if there’s anything she’d like Sita to improve, Savitra laughs.
“I just wish she would wake up on time in the morning. That’s my only complaint.”
