South African Woman Shares Wedding Photos of Herself as a 17-year-old Bride, Sparks Online Debate

• A South African woman who got married at 17 in 2016 shared her wedding photos on TikTok
• The viral post sparked a debate about whether it is advisable to get married at a young age
• PairShaped Couple Coaching spoke to Briefly News about the complexities of relationships and marriage
• While some netizens were concerned about the woman getting married as a teenager, others shared congratulatory messages

A South African woman had social media users divided by sharing her wedding images and revealing that she got married at 17 years old in 2016.

TikTok post shows 17-year-old bride's wedding photos

The TikTok post by @sbusile56 shows images of her looking very young in her white wedding gown, as well as pictures from her traditional wedding ceremony.

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Although marriage is a beautiful milestone and blessing, the young bride's post sparked questions about whether she was mature enough for such a big and lifelong commitment from some netizens.

Is getting married at a young age a cause for concern?

Marriage can be a demanding and challenging institution, and teenagers may not be ready for the responsibilities that come with it, National Institutes of Health states.

According to Benton Rathbone and Heather Reen of PairShaped Couple Coaching who spoke to Briefly News, from a purely legal standpoint, getting married under the age of 18 is not legal in South Africa without written consent from the parents or legal guardians.

"Relationships are extremely complex to navigate. Our experience with many couples is that, even as adults, a lot of them lack the emotional maturity required to be in a committed relationship.

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"Our belief is that healthy relationships are made up of two healthy individuals, who are both willing to take responsibility for their own part. They have developed the understanding required to make the compromises that are needed every day in their relationships.

Based on this, Benton and Heather's professional opinion is that it is not a good idea for any teenager to jump into marriage.

However, if they so choose, there are important things they should consider such as honesty, their own sense of identity, having healthy conflict resolution skills and good communication among others.

Netizens share their two cents on the post

While some were concerned about the woman getting married as a teenager. Others responded with congratulatory messages.

chunelihlegcwabe asked:

"How old was the husband when you guys got married?"

Nomza commented:

"Ngangino 18 years ,umyeni wami eno 21 yeminyaka masiqala sithandana,sashada ngino 22 years, 7August sobe sino 25 years together, Praise the Lord ."

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The Queen K commented:

"Soze ngashadisa eyami ingane at this age."

Fezile responded:

"Sisonke nami ngangina 17 ngino 28 manje kusemnandi."

busi12 remarked:

"Wamuhle mshado uyisibusiso esivela kumdali nkulunkulu mayebusisa umuntu akabheki ukuthi ungakanani wenzani udumengani. Amen."

makoti womfana said:

"Ayingeke wawusemncane yoh but ke syakubongela."

Masindi wrote:

"Did you have your Matric?"

user9077436768842 commented:

"Ngikufisela okuhle kodwa ."

Makoti has Mzansi laughing out loud after showing how women eat before and after marriage

In another story, Briefly News reported that getting married is a big commitment and perhaps one of the biggest life decisions we will make in life.

A South African woman posted a video showing the changes in how she used to eat before and after getting married.

A video posted by @makotiville on TikTok shows a woman all dressed up and eating at a restaurant in a calm and lady-like manner before it switches to show her looking very comfortable with her undone, eating with her hands from a takeaway box.

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Source: Briefly News