Man of 112 marries 17yr old

[faceless]

Somali man aged 112 marries girl of 17
David Smith in Johannesburg
guardian.co.uk,
29 October 2009

He is old enough to be her great-great-grandfather. But Ahmed Muhamed Dhore, a Somalian who claims he is 112 years old, said he had realised a "dream" by marrying a 17-year-old bride. Dhore – who says he was born in 1897, the year that Queen Victoria celebrated her diamond jubilee – already has 13 children by five wives, but said he would like more with his newest, Safiya Abdulle.

Hundreds of people attended the extraordinary ceremony this week in Guriceel, in the region of Galguduud. "Today God helped me realise my dream," Dore said. He and his new wife, who is almost a century his junior, are from the same village in Somalia, he said, adding that he had waited for her to grow up to propose. He says his children and two other wives agreed to the marriage, as did Abdulle's parents.

"I didn't force her, but used my experience to convince her of my love, and then we agreed to marry," the groom said. The bride's family said she was "happy with her new husband". Somali adolescent girls are often married off to older men. Dhore has 114 children and grandchildren. His oldest son is 80 and three of his wives have died. This was his first marriage for three quarters of a century.

--------------------

I did a wee search for Guriceel, the region in which this happened, and found this site:



What struck me was the way their language is written - it looks almost Indonesian, though I think they might have had a few extra vowels lying about...

"Ugu horreyn waxaa munaasabada ka hadlay guddoomiyaha guddiga qabanqaabada Max’uud Cumar Tootow oo u mahadceliyey dadkii ka soo qeybgalay munaasada"

[pirtybirdy]

I'm sure the 17 year old girl was thrilled to be married to an old coot of 112. No pressure at all from her parents and her village. To me it's sick and it's a practice I'd like to see abolished someday.