Oh yeah, so because a large population of people does something, it's ok because it becomes culture? I'm so tired of people using culture as an excuse for things that are harmful and abusive physicall or psychologically to other human beings.
Here's another article about this disturbing event:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/...988272280.html
Wedding of 12-year-old gypsy princess not recognised
October 2, 2003
The Romanian Government has announced an inquiry into the illegal wedding of Ana Maria, a 12-year-old Gypsy princess who married a 15-year-old Roma boy in a lavish ceremony at the weekend.
Ana Maria Cioaba, daughter of the self-proclaimed Roma king, Florin Cioaba, tried to flee her wedding, but her father had her brought back and she was forcibly married.
A government official, Serban Mihailescu, said the authorities did not recognise Saturday's wedding and an inquiry had begun into how a union between minors had been allowed.
Authorities in Sibiu went to the groom's house to investigate on Tuesday. One official said the girl was no longer there.
Mr Cioaba had kept the age of his daughter secret.
Observers at the wedding, in the central town of Sibiu, thought the bride looked sad.
"[The marriage] was decided when [Ana Maria] was seven," her aunt, Luminita Cioaba, said. "Sometimes the Gypsy traditions are very hard, even unfair."
The single Roma member of parliament, Madalin Voicu, said the wedding was an affront to the Gypsy people, saying: "A 12-year-old child cannot understand the notion of marriage and the duties appertaining to it."
A European MP and Romanian children's advocate, Baroness Emma Nicholson, asked the Romanian Government in a letter on Tuesday to remove the children to safety. She has called for the marriage to be declared illegal, and has charged that Ana Maria was raped on her wedding night.
The girl's family said child marriage was common among Roma, whose population is estimated at between 500,000 and 3 million in Romania.
The bride's brother, Dorin, said showing the guests a bloodied bedsheet to prove the marriage had been consummated was a tradition.
"There was no rape."
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