Engaging Communities about Child Marriage in Southern Nepal

What did the project involve?

Over the course of a year and a half, the team worked with a local film maker to engage with the public on the topic of child marriage. A film was created based on these discussions. This film was screened to audiences of communities in Kapilvastu district in Nepal. The next stage of the project involved going out to communities in Kapilvastu district, in rural plains Nepal, where child marriage is common. The film was screened to both small and large audiences. A trained facilitator then led a discussion on the topics that were covered and to think about how they may address the issue locally. Overall approximately 1800 people attended the screenings. The film was also showed in Kathmandu to external development partners and international and national NGOs working on child marriage. 

Watch the film “Stolen Dreams Broken Lives – Child Marriage in Nepal” below

Story-telling through film 

The purpose of telling stories, like the ones in the film, is that it establishes trust and connection between the speaker and listener. It increases receptivity, captures attention, engages emotions, and allows the receiver to participate in the story. It communicates values, helps people make sense of their world, and provides a dependable way for people to remember, retrieve, and retell a meaningful message.

The film and discussions have helped to create discussion about the causes and consequences of child marriage, and the barriers to change – both within communities and between researchers and community workers. Community members have mapped key stakeholders to engage in preventing child marriage, and sought to conduct more screenings in different community groups to increase awareness and stimulate debate. Through this engagement process discussions have been catalysed and a conscious objective to work towards the reduction of child marriage in Nepal has been built. 

Adapted from Dr. Devakumar’s blog post in 2018 about the project

This short video explains more about the process of the project: Bangles & Bindhi: A Public Engagement Project in Nepal

Dr. Devakumar also hosts a podcast, Global Health Lives, you can read about it here