Child Marriage in Daqahliya: Tying the Knot at 11 and 12 Years Old

In the past week, social media platforms across Egypt shared photos of a prepubescent couple getting married, sickening many and receiving deprecation by many. According to the posts shared, the couple are 12-year-old Youssef Nasser Hassan and his first cousin, 11-year-old Gharam Reda Mohammed. The couple's parents said the boy and girl had been in love since they were born, and they decided their marriage would be the natural next step to their relationship.

According to Elbadil News, the incident happened in the town of Daqasous in Mit Ghamr centre of the Daqahliyya governorate – apparently, it is not the first, and it won't be the last. Last July, photos of a different child-couple, Faris and Nancy, surfaced as well, and their marriage made them the world's youngest couple.

Elbadil reports on the backlash that ensued from children rights' groups, prominently from Amira El Hakim, a legal personnel from the Legal Foundation for Families and Human Rights, who stated that this marriage is a crime against their childhood and a violation of their rights. She adds that there must be workshops and trainings for families that assert the importance and need to allow children to mature physically and mentally into adults before pursuing their marriage.