11-year-old Iraqi boy ties the knot, says ‘whoever does not marry is in loss’

Gulf Today Report

A video of a wedding in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, caused a state of controversy and anger on social media.

The groom is no more than 11 years old. The incident has once again shed light on the phenomenon of early marriage.

The child is called Sajjad, a resident of the Baladiyat area, east of Baghdad, born in 2010, and his mother appeared with him in the circulating video, along with a large number of his relatives.

The child's mother explained her son's marriage at this age, "I wanted him to marry young so that I could be happy with his children before I die, and raise them with my own hands."

The child expressed his happiness with the marriage and said, “Marriage is a beautiful thing. I am happy with the marriage, and whoever does not marry is in loss.”

Photographer Zuhair Al-Atwani, who specialises in covering weddings and funerals, broadcast a wedding ceremony on his Facebook account, after which he raised a storm of controversy due to the young age of the groom, and in light of the widespread phenomenon of underage marriage in the country.

Users of social networking sites called for the Parliament and the judiciary to intervene to prevent these marriages, with harsh measures, to protect society from disintegration and the like.