These are the wedding photos taken as a 41-year-old widower marries a 13-year-old girl three months after they met on Facebook in a union accepted by her parents.
The wedding took place in the regency of Sidrap, in Central Indonesia’s South Sulawesi Province after widower Rustam Ashary, 41, married the teenage girl, identified in reports by her initial S.W.
Local media report the pair met on Facebook just three months ago and had been chatting online before deciding to get married.
S.W.’s mother, named in reports as Nurhayati, told reporters that both families had given their blessing for the marriage to go ahead and insisted her daughter had not pressured into the wedding.
Photos from the couple’s wedding day show them sitting together in traditional dress and reports state they were given a wedding certificate to confirm the marriage has been legally recognised.
South Sulawesi’s provincial government said they did not have the legal jurisdiction to stop the marriage but ensure they will work to ensure S.W. “receives her rights” as a minor, such as a full education.
The legal age of marriage in Indonesia is 19 for men and 16 for women, but a 1974 law allows those younger than this to marry in accordance with religious beliefs. Therefore, local religious courts can provide legal dispensation for minors to marry.
The Head of South Sulawesi’s Child Protection Services, Nur Anti, told reporters that they had advised S.W. to delay becoming pregnant until after she finishes her formal education.
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Story By: Alex Cope, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: AsiaWire Report
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