A 13-year-old child bride has been forced to marry a 48-year-old man and become his fifth wife in an Islamic ceremony in the Philippines. Friends and family attended to see the girl dressed in traditional white married in the town of Mamasapano in the Muslim-majority Maguindanao province. The groom was then accompanied by wedding guests in a festive procession with drum bands playing as they walked to the child bride's home. Fifteen percent of girls are married before their 18th birthday and 2 percent are married before they turn 15. Girls are even more vulnerable because the Philippines is the only country in the world where divorce remains illegal.

Source: Daily Mail November 16, 2020 16:05 UTC