In a remote region of Nepal, a marginalized ethnic group known as the Musahars experience widespread exclusion and discrimination. The Musahar - which directly translates to ‘rat eater’ - are a sub caste of the Dalit caste which were historically labelled as the 'untouchables’. Young Musahar girls bear the brunt of this inequality. For these girls, early marriage is often a survival strategy, despite being legally prohibited. Economic burdens, decades of oppression and societal norms intertwine, coercing many girls into marriage as early as 14 or 15 years old. Before Street Child’s intervention, 100% of the female population who Street Child were targeting were married with children by age 15. This blog reflects a recent interview with Usha Limbu, Inclusion Officer at Street Child, who shed light on how Street Child’s pioneering work in Nepal has helped to break the cycle of early marriage in this community.
Usha described the challenges faced by Street Child when they approached the community. The Musahar community initially met Street Child's efforts with resistance; as a community living in remote areas, they were understandably skeptical of outsiders. However, Street Child combined patience, empathy and local collaboration to ensure any intervention was led by the community’s wants and needs. By engaging with community-based organizations with deep contextual knowledge, Street Child built trust, forming a strong foundation of co-operation.
Usha emphasised the intensive groundwork, which spanned 18 months of research and consultation: vital for understanding the multifaceted barriers that Musahar girls and their families face. The result was a unique, tailored approach which stood in stark contrast to the common 'one-size-fits-all' approach followed by many NGOs. Street Child knows that equipping women and girls with basic numeracy and literacy skills can have a transformative impact, and the team believed that the catalytic power of learning combined with empowerment, resources and meaningful opportunities would have life-changing outcomes for young Musahar women.
For this reason, Street Child's project revolved around providing Musahar girls with essential literacy and numeracy skills. Armed with this foundational education, the girls were presented with two pathways: continuing into formal education or embarking on entrepreneurship to create their own livelihoods. Beyond academics, the program instilled life skills and protection strategies, informing the girls on the prevalence and risks of gender-based violence and early marriages. Through this, the girls nurtured their own sense of empowerment paving the way for them to become active decision-makers within their communities.
In 2020, when COVID-19 hit Nepal and lockdowns were enforced, Street Child pivoted to ensure that young Musahar girls remained protected. We provided materials informing girls about emergency services, including phone hotlines they could access if they found themselves in dangerous situations, such as forced marriage. Usha told Street Child:
These efforts proved successful when a Musahar girl recognized the danger of a forced marriage during the lockdown and knew how to respond safely. She called the hotline and informed the authorities anonymously, who were able to act swiftly and prevent the marriage from happening. One of the main intended outcomes of Street Child’s work was for women and girls to be able to recognize when they are at risk of gender-based violence, and this young woman’s story proves how vital this training was in transforming girls’ lives and the opportunities they have. By the end of the program, Street Child had actively prevented 33 forced marriages.
Despite this success there is more work ahead, and we have shifted our focus to assisting married women from the Musahar community. With recent research completed and new projects in the pipeline, Street Child is actively seeking funding to continue dismantling barriers and fostering a brighter future for the Musahar community. Support is needed now more than ever. Donations can make a difference in providing sustainable programs and empowering these young girls to become agents of change within their communities.