CAIRO — Eid Albanna, an Egyptian from South Sinai, posted a photo of the engagement ceremony of his daughter Salma, 5, to her cousin Youssef, 8, on Facebook July 21. He did not expect the wave of criticism that ensued, nor was he prepared for the controversy over underage marriage the photo sparked in Egypt.

On July 23, Albanna expressed his opinion to El Watan newspaper about the criticism leveled against him because of the photo, which, according to him, is tradition in Egypt. Salma’s brother, Ahmed Albanna, told Youm7, “The issue is not worth all the hype. The parents have said that Youssef is Salma’s, and such a thing happens a lot in Egyptian families.”

Albanna was criticized by Facebook-based activists, the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood and by children's rights activists like lawyer Mahmoud Badawy, who described the engagement as a violation against children’s rights and the result of a lack of awareness. Some activists mocked the engagement and the families of the two children on Facebook.

As the criticism grew harsher, Albanna had to delete the photo. He wrote on Facebook that the engagement was merely a joke between him, his sons, relatives and friends.