Underage marriage is illegal in South Sudan yet so commonplace it rarely attracts attention. But the case of Athiak Dau Riak, whose mother says she is only 14, has gone viral, polarising her family and the country
• Words and photographs by Florence Miettaux in Juba
In the sticky heat of a June day in Juba, South Sudan’s capital, groups of young men and women sang as they walked along the main road of Sherikat, on the east bank of the White Nile. Weaving through the slow-moving traffic, the boys carried long sticks while the girls wore colourful beads, skirts and lawas, a long piece of cloth tied on the shoulder.
With thousands of other Dinka, one of the largest ethnic groups in South Sudan, they would dance late into the night at the agam (‘acceptance’ in Dinka) ceremony that celebrates the conclusion of a “marriage competition”, the traditional practice in which several men vie for the hand of a marriageable girl.
