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A 16-year-old boy 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.
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.
