Romanian Bride

By: Lili Grigorian
College Now Course - ENG BW

"We must keep our tradition alive in order to keep intact our identity and to survive. It's immoral and dangerous to forbid a custom and no one has right to do that" said Vasile Ionescu of the Roma Center for public policies, as an explanation about a forced marriage between a twelve year old girl and a fifteen year old boy.

The marriage of two children against their wills in Romania is immoral and dangerous, because it violates two official laws of Romania, and basic human rights. The idea of keeping traditions alive in order to keep intact an identity and to survive is correct. But the question becomes which particular traditions should or should not be kept.

In the case of that immoral marriage in Romania, keeping such tradition is awful, ridiculous, and wrong. This marriage violates two official laws of Romania: the legal age of sexual consent, which is fifteen, and the legal age for marriage, which is sixteen. Officially, it is a rape. As stated by the king's spokeswoman Chendea: "It doesn't matter what she wants." This phrase shows that a girl completely does not have any rights and liberties, according to the Roma Gypsies traditions. The boy also does not have a free will in this case. When he was asked if he loved Anna Maria, he answered" I guess I do."

This marriage also violates a natural law of being free and happy. Anna Maria was strongly against her marriage. She did not even like that boy. During the wedding ceremony "she picked up the hem of her bast 4,000 euro wedding dress and fled the church as guests sang cheerful marriage songs around her." Then she was brought back and "was promptly married against her will."

The most dramatic and gruesome part of this "tradition" is the obligation "to show wedding guests a bloodied bedsheet to prove the marriage had been consummated." This wild tradition should not be allowed in Romania anymore. The time of such horrible traditions passed a long time ago, in the Middle Ages.

"Romania, as a candidate country is obliged to act on this immediately", according to the British politic, if Romania wants to be part of the European Union and step to the twenty first century. It is a great shame for Romania that the tradition of marriage against the bride's will still exists in their society. No one has right to take away a freedom and happiness from a human, as was done in this case. As Thomas Jefferson said: "Everyone has the right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness."