Nepal, Feb. 6 -- Walking through the ancient alleys of Lalitpur, you notice the calm first. It is a city that knows how to present a beautiful face to the world. Temples stand tall in Patan Durbar Square. Steam rises from morning tea shops, and children in crisp school uniforms rush past to catch their buses. Families gather in laughter, offering puja to the deities at dawn. To an outsider-or even to those of us living comfortably within it-everything looks normal. It looks peaceful.

But during my years as an advisor to Antardristi Nepal, I learned the hard way that "normal" is often just a cover-a thin sheet draped over a much darker story. Beneath the pleasantries of our society lies the reality of Nepal's girl children, particularly t...