Last but not least: So let he who binds himself to whom be tested
In Norway, the announcement of a 37-year-old man’s marriage to a 12-year-old girl has sparked a storm of outrage. Quite rightly so, one might say. And entirely calculated, one must add.
Thea's "marriage blog" went online on September 12. The twelve-year-old announced in childlike exuberance that she would marry her 37-year-old boyfriend on October 11, 2014.
From then on, Norway's first child bride described the preparations for the big celebration in detail - with girlish pictures, just like thousands of blogging teenagers do. Cakes, wedding dresses, selfies. The invitation card was also proudly presented - accompanied, as always, by a torrent of indignant comments.
...the blog visitors were even allowed to take part in the search for the perfect wedding dress:
Theasbryllup.blogg.no became the most visited blog in Norway within a very short space of time. And at some point it must have dawned on the last visitor that the story was too absurd to be true. At the latest when the page was supplemented with information from the child protection organization Plan. Namely that October 11 - the planned marriage date - is International Girls' Day. And that the story that caused such a stir in Norway is part of everyday life in other parts of the world. 39,000 girls worldwide are married off against their will and robbed of their childhood prematurely - every day!
Thea's initial euphoria also seems to have faded. In the latest entry on October 8, she talks (according to Google Translate) about her long-standing dream of becoming a vet - and how her mother talked her out of it because she was getting married soon and therefore didn't need a job or training. The blog will probably continue until October 11 - but the campaign will continue to cause a stir for some time afterwards. (hae)
