Child rights activists are all in an uproar about an engagement photo and video clip posted on Facebook last week.
The engagement was between the 10-year-old Iman Badran and her bridegroom-to-be Shams Mahmoud, aged 12. Both come from the Delta town of Senbillawein.
Bloggers posted comments which betrayed their horror at the intended marriage of the children.
The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) filed a claim with the Prosecutor-General Hisham Barakat against the intended marriage which violates the minimum legal marriage age of 18, and which infringes upon the most basic rights of children as stipulated in the child’s rights law.
The NCCM called upon the media to campaign against children’s marriage, especially focusing on the health hazards it involves. It reminded the public of its hotline 16021 to report child marriages.
Watani International
4 September 2013