Sometimes in order to understand the reality of an awful global issue, people need to be able to see it happening right in front of them.
So in order to raise awareness about the global issue of arranged child marriages, 21-year-old YouTube star Coby Persin decided to push the envelope by asking a 12-year-old ‘bride’ to pose with a 65-year-old ‘groom’ in the middle of Times Square – despite the fact that child marriages aren’t actually legal in the United Status.
In his latest social experiment clip, Coby brings the man and his young ‘wife’ into the middle of Times Square for a staged post-wedding photo shoot – sending passersby into a fit of anger.
Coby’s video begins with him explaining to viewers how child marriage is not only legal in 91 countries around the world, but even continues to be legal in the United States – with some having a cut off as low as 12 years of age.
So, to put the issue right out there, Coby heads into Times Square with an elderly man in a suit and a young girl of just 12 in a wedding dress.
As he directs them to sit and pose in areas of the square, passersby gawk in disbelief at the supposed newlyweds.
Soon enough, people start approaching the man and his unsmiling child bride, with one woman asking the little girl: ‘Where is your mom?’
Confronted: Some of the people are so upset by the sight of the pair that they approach the ‘groom’ with questions and anger
As the man tries to explain to the irate woman that the girl’s parents ‘gave me permission to marry her’, she becomes even more agitated. ‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’ she exclaims.
In another confrontation, a young man grows increasingly concerned as he demands to know how old the girl and questions the legality of the whole affair.
‘This is bulls***! This is not right!’ he says. ‘And I’m sure if we called the cops, you would get locked up!’
As he approaches the couple, the ‘groom’ reveals that they have brought along security for protection.
One woman, approaching the situation in a far more calm manner, questions the pair and eventually grabs hold of the young girl’s arm to lead her away after she fails to respond to the woman asking if she wants to be there.
Gathering a crowd: Soon enough, the attention brings dozens of people to be staring at the couple
Taking issue: Others confronting the pair become furious, with this man eventually needing to be taken away by security
While snapping another set of photos in front of a Walgreen’s store, two men approach and ask for the girl’s age. Shocked when they learn she is just 12, one asks the girl: ‘Are you okay with this?!’ when she doesn’t answer, he says ‘Oh I don’t think so, sir!’
His companion pushes the older man up against the wall why the other leads girl to the police.
A large crowd begins to form around the couple and one man begins swearing in anger at the older man, telling him to ‘get your hands off her’ and calling him ‘a f***ing sick pervert’.
He gets right into the older man’s face before security sweeps in to move him off.
The clip ends with a shocking statistic about child marriage: how 33,000 girls are married as children every day and stripped of their childhood.
The experiment is similar to one staged in Lebanon by charity KAFA last year to highlight the issue, which also saw spectators similarly dismayed.