A Presentation by Ms. Catherine Breen-Kamkong, Deputy Represenatative, UNFPA Nepal made during the Round Table with Religious Leaders and Adolescents on Child Marriage in Kathmandu, Nepal on 15 September 2013

1. Sexual and Reproductive Health,
Child Marriage and Religion
Ms. Catherine Breen- Kamkong, Representative a.i, UNFPA
15th September 2013

2. Sexual and Reproductive Health,
Child Marriage and Religion
Faith and religion play a vital
role in the lives and cultures
of most people throughout
Nepal.

3. Sexual and Reproductive Health
consequences of Child Marriage
• 81 in every 1000 births in Nepal is by an adolescent mother (2nd highest
in South Asia after Bangladesh)
• The number one cause of death among girls aged 15 – 19 relates to
complications from early pregnancy
• Adolescent girls under the age of 15 are up to five times more likely to
die in childbirth than women in their 20’s
• Babies born to adolescent mothers have a
high risk of dying during their first year of life
• 86% of married adolescent girls aged 15 – 19
are not using a modern form of contraception
• There were 95,000 cases of abortions reported
in 2010/11 where 25% were teenagers

4. • In Nepal, most sexually active adolescent girls are married and
make up the overwhelming majority of those who become pregnant.
• Early childbearing is also linked to obstetric fistula and uterine
prolapse.
• Teenage mothers are more likely to have stillbirths
and children with low birth weight and anemia.
• Stillbirths and death in the first week
of life are 50 per cent higher among
babies born to mothers younger
than 20 than mothers aged 20-29
• Marriage also increases girls’ risk of
contracting HIV, often from their
husbands.
• Child marriage puts girls at a greater
risk of gender-based violence.
Sexual and Reproductive Health
consequences of Child Marriage

5. Religious leaders enjoy unique relationships
with members of local communities –
relationships often built on mutual
respect, trust, and service to those most in
need.
An Opportunity

6. What we can achieve
together in SRH programs
Through joint engagement with religious and community leaders, we can
improve the lives of adolescent girls by:
• Delaying age at marriage
• Delaying age at first pregnancy and childbirth
• Increasing contraceptive prevalence rates
• Reducing unwanted pregnancies
• Reducing other harmful practices including sex selective abortion/ son
preference
• Improving reproductive health and HIV knowledge and practice
• Preventing illnesses such as Obstetric Fistula and Uterine Prolapse
which can result from early childbearing
Together we can help ensure young people have the best chance of
achieving their full potential in life!

7. Islam
The case of Iran
The Family Progamme of Iran led to a reduction in the
fertility rate from 5.4 to 2.1 in a period of 20 years. The
figures can be partially attributed to the cooperation that has
taken place over the years between Islamic scholars and
UNFPA.
In an adolescent sexual and reproductive health
program, Islamic scholars employed the religious injunction
that ‘fathers and mothers are obliged to teach their children the
skills and knowledge of their time’ to encourage families to
teach their adolescents issues related to puberty and sexual
health as appropriate to their age.

8. The case of Nepal
In Kapilvastu, Muslim leaders and Hindu Priests
advocated to delay the age of marriage and
supported couples to access family planning and
utilize safe motherhood services.
Islam and Hinduism

9. The case of Sri Lanka
The Damrivi Foundation has developed education
and counseling courses for people on issues of
population and development. Their belief is that in
order to bring about effective change, men and
women, young and old, need to be educated
about the most urgent issues facing their
communities.
Buddhism

10. Christianity
The Case of Latin American council of Churches
Safe spaces were created around the issue of
gender justice in relation to HIV and AIDS.
By doing so, the Church has fostered environments
for healing and wholeness.
Slowly, women have moved away from being the
bearers of stereotypes, to being the bearers of
human rights.

11. As a principle, we should always ask ourselves:
• How do we see and interpret violence in all its manifestations.
Would I accept to suffer?
• Would I want my mother, wife, sister, or daughter to suffer?
• Would I want my adolescent children to suffer?
If not, then each one of us should move with full commitment
to end all forms of violence against any member in our
communities, knowing that.
Final thoughts

12. • All forms of harm towards all people are against the
basic spirit of all faiths.
• It is our duty to join the energies of our faiths and
our institutions to address abuses of human rights
with all our human and material resources.
• There is energy in faith, and in working together to
reach common ground.
Final thoughts