According to Yahoo, a 17-year-old girl was forced to marry a married man who was at least 30 years older than her in “the wedding of the millennium.” The incident has since raised legal and ethical issues in Russia and its republic Chechnya. Luiza Goilabiyeva, called Kheda, 17, got married on Saturday to Chechen police officer Nazhud Guchigov, 47 is already married, and has children who are even older than his new bride.
But, the teenager appeared so sad and downtrodden at the ceremony, as she stands feet away from her husband-to-be at the registry office in Grozny, making this the first photo of an extremely sad-looking bride we’ve seen. Wedding days are typically moments of joy and celebration, but the photos of this young bride, clearly shows the opposite.
A Russian investigative paper Novaya Gazeta reported that Goilabiyeva was being forced to marry the local official, who reportedly threatened her parents, demanding that he marry her on the day of her 17th birthday, May 1, and even warned that he would kidnap Goilabiyeva, if she does not comply with the marriage agree.
“He is married and has children. She’s younger than his children. The Chechen woman is powerless; she can expect help from nowhere,” one of Goilabiyeva’s girlfriends posted, according to The Daily Beast. “Kheda told him that she has a boyfriend, but it was disregarded. They say that her boyfriend was beaten half to death.”