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Hissam Hussein Dhaini, the 65-year-old mayor of the Brazilian state Parana’s Araucaria municipality, married a 16-year-old girl last month. The news surfaced online over the past two days, leaving the internet appalled.
Trigger Warning: This article contains implications of p*dophilia. Reader's discretion is advised.
The 16-year-old bride, Kauane Rode Camargo, participated in the teen category at the Miss Araucaria beauty pageant and came second. According to reports, she met Hissam at a social event.
Vogue Brazil reported that the “teen princess” is currently a high school student and attends a civic-military school in Araucaria, which is overseen by her husband. Hissam is serving his second term as the city’s mayor and married the teen girl after divorcing his second wife last year.
The day after their wedding on April 12, 2023, Kauane’s mother, Marilene Rode, was promoted to the post of Secretary of Culture of Araucaria. Reports say that prior to this, Marilene had been the general secretary. Marilene’s sister, Elizângela Rode, also serves as a commissioner at City Hall.
Soon after the news emerged on social media platforms, netizens started sharing their reactions. One Twitter user, @ask_aubry, called Hissam Hussein a "groomer."
Hissam Hussein faces backlash online after marrying a teen girl
65-year-old Hissam Hussein's marriage to 16-year-old Kauane Rode did not sit right with netizens. The stark age difference and Kauane being a minor unsettled many who learned the news. Some wrote that even though the legal age of consent in Brazil is 14, Hissam had reportedly maintained a relationship with Kauane since she was 13.
Kauane's mother, Marilene Rode, is blamed for selling her daughter for political gain
A Brazilian media outlet, Hora Brasilia, reported that the union of Hissam and Kauane has been seen by the people of Araucaria as an example of true love that overcame prejudices.
Following the marriage, Parana state prosecutors started looking into whether Hissam used his influence to hire Kauane’s family members to government positions. Consequently, Hissam removed both Marilene and Elizangela from their promoted roles on Tuesday, April 25. However, the city of Araucaria defended Marilene Rode’s hiring in a statement and said:
“the servant in question meets the necessary conditions for the exercise of the position, since she has 26 years of experience in the public service.”
According to G1, a Brazilian news outlet, Marilene Rode was first employed as an advisor to the municipal secretary in August 2021. She later got a promotion and served as Hissam Hussein’s executive assistant. In January last year, Marilene was named the Director of the Araucaria Department of Education.
Some Twitter users said that Marilene was previously in a relationship with Hissam Hussein before the mayor married her daughter, Kauane. Netizens were outraged at the mother for selling her daughter to a groomer for financial and political gain.
This is not the first time Hissam Hussein has received backlash for his actions. During his first term serving as the mayor, he reportedly appointed the family members of his then-wife to governmental posts. It made everyone question his hiring practices. He was also investigated by the Civil Society Organization of Public Interest in 2019 after Hissam named several family members to Araucaria’s government roles.
However, Hissam Hussein was eventually cleared of all wrongdoings. But in November 2020, he was reportedly arrested in connection with a drug trafficking investigation and was accused of safeguarding drug traffickers. For protection, Hissam also allegedly bribed police officers. Despite the investigation, the mayor was not convicted of any charges.
The local council in Araucaria reportedly refused to address the wedding or comment on it since they deemed it a personal matter. However, what came off as more disturbing to netizens was that the Brazilian Civil Code states that men and women aged sixteen can get married. As such, tthey would require authorization from both parents of both the party or their legal guardians until the individual reaches the age of civil majority.
People were upset that both Kauane’s father and mother probably signed the documents required to have her 16-year-old daughter marry a 65-year-old man.
As per reports, more than 2.2 million teen girls and minors are currently married in Brazil. Flávia Gomes Cordeiro, a prosecutor from the state of Piauí, said that child marriage for girls in Brazil ends in several consequences, including lack of professional training, a life of domestic service or slavery, school dropout, restrictions on mobility and freedom, and exclusion from the professional labor market.
