16-year-old has reportedly married a 71-year-old woman against the wishes of an Indonesian community after threatening suicide if their families blocked the union.
Selamat Riayadi and his elderly bride
named only as Rohaya are said to have got married in their home village
of Karangendah in the western South Sumatra province of Indonesia.
As is the tradition in the region, the
couple had to ask permission from the owner of the home in which the
marriage was solemnised because the bride-to-be had been widowed twice.
The couple said their love for each
other was so strong they would commit suicide together if the wedding
wasn’t given the go ahead because ‘they were so completely in love, if
one of them dies then both must die’.
After initially showing scepticism
towards the relationship, the homeowner, who happened to be a community
leader named as Kuswoyo, reportedly granted permission.
Both he and her brother gave in to her wishes to wed following the couple’s suicide threats.
The official minimum age for boys to
marry in Indonesia is 19 but a loophole allows for any marriage within a
person’s ‘religious norms’, but it is not clear who gave it the thumbs
up.
The Muslim couple are understood to have formed a nikah siri marriage, recognised by society but not the state.
Because Islam has no formal minimum age
on marriage, it only requires consensus that the would-be bride or groom
has reached ‘maturity’.
The wedding video and photos were spread online and many Indonesians questions whether or not the union was real.
But an Indonesian media outlet claims it
spoke to Kuswoyo, who confirmed both the marriage and the couple’s
threats to kill themselves if they were barred from marrying.
He is reported as saying: ‘They said
they wanted to commit suicide because they were completely in love, so
if one of them dies, then both must die.’
The marriage is not believed to be motivated by financial concerns, as both newlyweds are equally poor.
His family made a dowry payment to hers of £11.50.
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