What 11-Year-Olds Should Be DoingJust when you thought a 29-year-old grandmother was disturbing, along comes a granny who will blow your mind. Rifca Stanescu of Romania was only 11 when she married a 13-year-old jewelry seller, out of fear of being married off to an older man in the village. By age 12, she had given birth to her first child, Maria. Maria apparently thought that was a pretty good set-up, and left school to get married at age 10, then promptly had a baby at age 11.
I didn't think Romania was so dramatically different than the rest of Eastern Europe, but this whole scenario is just effed up. What's going on over there that kids go to work when they should be mooning over Justin Bieber, and are allowed to marry before they can grow facial hair?
Since the legal age for marriage in Romania is 16 (or 18 according to another report), I'm guessing these ladies lived in a remote area where rules just don't matter. It makes you wonder what else was going on in the area to make child sexual exploitation so common that there is now a grandmother who is younger than most mothers.
Grandma Rifca says she wanted more for her daughter, but apparently child rape is about as good as it gets in that family. It's all so distasteful, even though when you look at Rifca, she looks older than her 23 years, and with good reason. Her own mother is only 40 and is a great-grandmother. Yikes.
Honestly, someone needs to be prosecuted here, although it's unclear by this article who is being exploited, or who is just following a messed up family tradition.
What do you think about the world's youngest grandmother?
Image via ellenm1/Flickr
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Comments 77
i read a full article that said the grandmother's child eloped with another boy aged 13, children have sex at an early age and this doesn't suggest exploitation in my opinion. the child really wanted to get married and in her culture that's what happens. the mother really wanted her daughter to continue her education but the girl made the decision to quit and be married like her mother did. it's a little sad but they seem happy with their lives. in a perfect world people wouldn't have sex until they were married and wouldn't be married until they graduated college, it's not a perfect world. they are making their choices that are supported by their gyspy culture.
Romania is home to many travelers (Roma) or what most people refer to as Gypsies. This is common pretty common in their culture. Typically marriages are arranged. I have to agree with pp that if the marriage was between two children, even though we may not agree with it there is nothing wrong with it. "Distasteful", maybe, but our culture isn't the only way. There are many times that people from our culture don't make the best life decisions either.
I think it's sad. Maybe this IS common place for them, but I think you should at least understand sex and be emotionally ready to raise a baby. Raising a baby in your 20s is hard enough to do. I was 25 when my daughter was born 5 1/2 years ago. I couldn't imagine being a teen mom or younger. I just think it's wrong to let anyone get married under 18 and I know in a lot of cultures that may be common place. I just don't think that you're ready to make adult decisions until then even if you are considered by your culture to be an adult. Surely, the US's way is not the only way of the world, but it's the only one I prefer.
Idont feel like children at that age really know what they want. I mean i was only 17 when i got pregnant andi obviosly didnt know what i was in for i DONT think a 10 or 12 year old can raise a child when they are just a baby themselves ... They would be playing Barbie Dolls with there children ... it just not right