5 year old brides and grooms

Youths experience hard times and obstacles when they decide to get married, a fact which has led to the raised of the marriage age in Egypt among the two genders. In light of this, Arabstoday has obtained an astounding story on this subject; that of a five year old boy becoming engaged to a girl of the same age, with their parents agreeing. Abdul-Rahman’s teacher was surprised when she found him wearing a silver ring and telling her that he got engaged. The kindergarten deputy headmistress said that she did not believe the story, and only came around to believing it when she asked the child several questions, and his answers were accurate and detailed. Abdul-Rahman has told the whole story to Arabstoday, and stressed that he feels jealous for his bride, as he doesn’t like other boys flirting with her! His mother has however denied the story, and one can see the child’s fear in front of his mother as evidence of this. The teacher, Safaa Ali, did not believe the story at first. The child repeated the story again in detail, in which he stated his affection for his neighbour, named Ahd, and told his parents that he wanted to marry her. He also gave her the golden set of jewelley customery for engagements, which was a necklace and ring. The teacher sent the boy’s parent to come to the nursery to shed further light on the matter. His father, an Engineer, came to and assured her that the story was in fact true. The teacher said she was shocked, as she considered it wrong of the parents to allow. She asked the father to take the boy’s ring, as she stated that it was not allowed to be worn inside the nursery. The boys classesmate found the incident humorous and used it to poke fun at Abdul-Rahman. She specified an example in which she asked the boy about a Mother’s Day gift, and if he had given a gift to his mother-in-law. He replied to her with confidence: “Yes, my father gave me a wrapped box and asked me to give it to my mother-in-law.” The deputy headmistress wondered: “Can such a child be a liar? I think he is telling the truth very honestly.” Arabstoday talked to Abdul-Rahman. One feels at first glance of meeting the boy that you are in the presence of a 25 year old man and not a child. When he was asked about his fiancée, he replied: “Yes, I liked her very much. We were playing and eating together most of the time. I told my father that I wanted to marry her and he agreed.” AT: What happened after that? AR: My father talked to hers as they are friends and agreed on everything. They agreed on the time of the engagement. We bought her the engagement gift and after the party we sat together to talk. AT: Do you visit her? AR: I go to my home after the nursery to finish my homework. Then I go to Ahd’s house and have dinner together. Then we play together until nightfall when I return home. AT: Do you feel jealous for her? AR: Of course. I don’t allow her to go out as I don’t like other boys flirting her. AT: Is it possible that when you are old enough to marry another girl, you may feel that you don’t love Ahd any more? AR: It is impossible. Even if I met girls who are more beautiful than her, I would still marry Ahd. This last answer was a surprise. Can this be out of his imagination? After getting his mother’s number and calling her, she denied all what had been said, both by her son and her husband, but she was not even surprised, which was likely to happen to any mother in her shoes. I asked to meet her in the nursery. During the meeting she said: “He is a child with a wide imagination, and all this did not happen.” The boy came afraid and strongly hesitant in front of his mother, unlike what he was like when I talked to him earlier. “Mom told me to say I was lying, but I am not”, Abdul-Rahman whispered. He then had to remain silent in front of his mother in order not to be punsihed.