Three feet tall man marries five feet tall woman
At just under three-and-a-half foot tall, Arif Ibrahim Tambe had resigned himself to life alone.
But at 32 years old, having grown against a backdrop of extreme size prejudice, he finally found love – with a woman almost 2ft taller than him.
His new wife Ameena Ahmed, 21, even agreed to marry him - despite the threat of being disowned by her family.
And they have now taken their relationship to new heights by having their first child together.
He said: "I feel like God took something away and now he has given something back. I have got a reason to live my life. God has given me what I wished for."
The couple met in a mobile phone shop three years ago and both say it was love at first sight.
Arif, who has a form of dwarfism, was worried she would eventually reject him when she realised the full extent of his care needs.
He said: “She said 'I like you and I want to marry you' - so I sat down and told her everything."
"I said 'if you marry me you will have to do everything for me. You will have to take me to the toilet, to the bathroom and to the shower'. I told her everything and she still agreed."
Just two years later the couple, who live in Pune, in the west of India, sealed their happiness with a lavish wedding in their hometown of Mumbai - but not everyone was happy.
Ameena, who is 5ft 2in tall, said: "When our marriage was fixed, all my relatives opposed it. They would taunt me, saying that my would-be husband is a dwarf.
"In the end, none of my relatives attended my wedding."
Her immediate family have now accepted the marriage, but her wider family are still distant.
Determined not to be a burden – especially after the arrival of his new son Aseem Arif Tambe - Arif has invested in an electric wheelchair, which gives him more independence.
And with their newfound confidence the couple are more comfortable to be seen out in public together.
"Their reaction to me is still the same as before," said Arif, who has suffered size prejudice for most of his life.
"But now they look at us together with shock and say ‘look at his wife’.”
