Written by Ganga Pyakurel

Rabina, 20 from Sarlahi, shares, "Getting married at an early age also means missing out on opportunities and compromising one's health.” She further shares, "Many girls from my community get married at a very early age, and that's when the struggle begins. Imagine being young and having a child when you yourself are a child."

"There was no place where I, or other young girls like me, could go and get critical health care information. That's when I enrolled in the 'Healthy Transformation' session provided by Save the Children and the Rural Women Upliftment Association (RWUA)." The 'Healthy Transformation' sessions are designed for adolescent girls and young mothers, where participants receive critical life-saving information, knowledge on childcare, information on hazards related to early pregnancy, menstrual hygiene management, and pre- and post-pregnancy care. This in turn supports with enabling participants to take sound decisions related to their health. "The information I received in these sessions helped challenge a lot of stereotypes related to adolescent girls and women's health and empowered me to make decisions related to my health,” shares, Rabina.

Currently, the 'Healthy Transformation' sessions are being implemented in 15 communities in the Sarlahi district, benefiting around 272 adolescent girls and young mothers with critical life-saving health information. Rabina emphasizes, "We have learned about critical health care information from these sessions, information which we won't even get in schools, as health, especially reproductive health, is often considered a taboo subject." She further adds, "For those who aren't part of these sessions, I make sure to share this information with them, as it is important not just for me but for everyone around me."

Rabina continues to explain that the sessions are designed from an intersectional perspective, where health and well-being are linked to discussions about social issues and harmful social norms. "As we discuss topics related to adolescent girls and women's health, we also delve into harmful social norms that have an adverse effect, such as child marriage. Child marriage restricts opportunities and negatively impacts our health, leading to complications during pregnancy and deprivation of health and nutrition for a child due to the lack of information on proper childcare and nutrition."

"In the end, everything comes down to information," Rabina concludes. "It empowers us in our community to adopt healthy behaviors and make informed decisions for our own and our children's well-being."