A 15-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl in Banateng in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, have received a court’s approval to get married. Last week, the young couple went to register their marriage at the Religious Affairs Office, but were rejected, The Star reported.
They then filed for a dispensation at the Religious Court, which exempted them from having to meet the standard marriage requirements on age. On Thursday, they returned to the Religious Affairs Office and they were able to register to get married.
Syarif Hidayat, an official from the Religious Affairs Office, said they could not refuse their registration due to the court’s decision. “It was the first time I received a marriage application form from such a young couple,” Hidayat said.
Hidayat said no one arranged for them to get married and the young girl was not pregnant. He said the young girl did not want to be lonely as her mother had recently passed away and her father was often away working.
The young couple is now registered to marry and are taking premarital counseling sessions. In Indonesia, the legal age to get married is 16 for girls and 19 for boys.
