A family in Gharbiya celebrated the engagement of their nine-year-old daughter to her cousin on Sunday, among hundreds of well-wishers.
“It is not wrong to be happy for them and support them,” said Mohamed al-Wakil, a relative of the two kids, adding that Waguih al-Banna, the groom, is done with his preparatory school and is looking for a job to save money for an apartment.
Banna told Al-Masry Al-Youm he was very happy with his engagement. He said he decided to immediately get engaged to his cousin “so as for her not to leave the family house,” he said. Banna added that he knows many others have already proposed to her in the past. He said he plans to get married within four years.
The legal marriage age in Egypt is set at 18 years, according to the 2014 Constitution which stipulates protection for children against sexual abuse.
United Nations statistics, however, point out that more than 700 million women around the world get married under the age of 18.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
