Children's channel KIKA aired footage about a 16-year-old German girl, Malvina, who dates a Syrian Muslim migrant called Diaa.
Both seem to be in love, but Diaa looks much older than his girlfriend: at first, he was said to be 17, then his age was changed to 19, but many social media users assumed that the young man rather looks like he could be 25, or even older.
Although love basically knows no age, there is another issue that might lead to serious problems: Diaa is very conservative. The young man prohibits his fiancée to do certain things common for an ordinary girl in Western society, like eating pork and wearing short skirts.
READ MORE: Afghan Teen Brutally Stabs Local Girl to Death in German Grocery Store — Reports
"I cannot accept that my wife dresses like that," the young man, who was very much unhappy about the fact that Malvina refused to wear a headscarf, said. "I want to marry her as soon as possible, and then she's mine."
His girlfriend, in turn, said that they have their own issues, "but as long as I submit, everything is fine."
The movie sparked intense debate on social networks.
Germany- Anger over KIKA-related film from 2017: Here "uncritically false tolerance is propagated." The German girl(16) and the Syrian"boy" is supposed to be 17 here! Older news articles showed him as 18 in 2016.https://t.co/evLuWmSp9T pic.twitter.com/H2J5MCDkQ2
— Stan (@StanM3) 8 января 2018 г.
Many social media users were deeply shocked by the film as it shows an opposite of what they expect a romantic relationship in the West to be: based on equality and mutual respect, and not on submission and oppression.
The sooner she married him, the sooner he will beat her into a submissive pulp.
— Martha Baehr (@panhandleheart) 10 января 2018 г.
19 is entirely possible — but then so is 25! I doubt I'd go so far as 36 though. I had a buddy who rocked the full beard at 17 and was buying booze without ID.
— James C. Fite (@FiteWrite) 10 января 2018 г.
Life of horror awaits her!
— Martha Baehr (@panhandleheart) 10 января 2018 г.
Yes, incredible! 🤢🤢🤢 Germany State TV… 🤢🤢🤢
— Meow (@HamburgerMeow) 9 января 2018 г.
Hah, where are feminists?
— Miłosz (@veselarr) 9 января 2018 г.
Disgusting
— Cheryl (@Cheryl42173392) 9 января 2018 г.
According to the Voice of Europe, by broadcasting the video, KIKA has implicitly supported child marriages in Germany given the fact that the migrant appears to be much older than his girlfriend whom he wants to marry.
READ MORE: Alleged Young Afghan Refugee Tries to Drown His German Ex-Girlfriend — Reports
The film was released in November, but it became the subject of heated discussions shortly after a young Afghan man murdered a 15-year-old German ex-girlfriend during an argument in a grocery store last month and another almost drowned his 17-year-old fiancée in a river in Berlin. Both incidents supposedly occurred as result of a breakup. The two migrants who claimed to be under 20 are assumed to be much older than they stated.
