Wabari
Wabari Guleed Liban
Someone very close to me recently shared that they’re returning to Somalia to get married. At first, I congratulated them without much thought until they revealed that their “fiancée” is gonna be 17 years old. I understand that this isn’t considered unusual in Somalia, but as someone raised in the West, I’m struggling to process this. The person getting married is 25. I’ve seen similar situations before. For example, in my family’s home town, I once heard about a 55-year-old man marrying a 19-year-old girl. I get that Somalia and the West have totally different ways of looking at things, but honestly, I’m still feeling a bit weirded out.