Facebook Accused Of Supporting Underage Marriage of 17 Year Old South Sudanese Girl

In October, men in South Sudan took to Facebook to bid for a hand in marriage of a 17 year old girl. The picture of Nyalong Ngong Deng, who is from South Sudan’s Eastern Lakes state, was posted on Facebook on October 25.

Five wealthy men are said to have participated in the auction that went viral with the highest bidder parting with 500 cows, three exotic cars and Sh1 million in dowry.

Plan International a Non governmental organisation has raised concerns terming the auction as the barbaric use of technology.

“This barbaric use of technology is reminiscent of latter-day slave markets. That a girl could be sold for marriage on the world’s biggest social networking site in this day and age is beyond belief, said George Otim, Country Director of Plan International South Sudan.

Facebook have however claimed that the auction took place on their platform and it took them two weeks to pull the post down. Facebook have maintained that they are firm on their policy on Human trafficking.

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The girl was married on November 3 and is currently in hiding after being labelled the ‘virgin bride’ or ‘the most expensive woman in South Sudan’ .

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