HUGE DOWRY SHINES LIGHT ON CHILD BRIDES

Five hundred cows, two luxury cars, US$10,000, two bikes, a boat and a few cellphones made up the final price in a heated bidding war for a child bride in South Sudan that went viral after the auction was pointed out on Facebook. It is the largest dowry ever paid in the civil war-torn country, the government said.

The highest bidder was a man three times the 17-year-old’s age. At least four other men competed, said Philips Anyang Ngong, a human rights lawyer who tried to stop the bidding last month. Among the bidders was the state’s deputy governor.

“She has been reduced to a mere commodity,” said Ngong, calling it “the biggest test of child abuse, trafficking and auctioning of a human being.”