Posts Tagged ‘forced’

Saudi woman elopes, seeks asylum in Yemen

Published: December 10th, 2013 Updated: December 9th, 2013

Saudi woman elopes, seeks asylum in Yemen

Her outraged family alleges that her lover cast a magic spell and kidnapped her

Sana’a: A Saudi woman who fled her home last month to seek asylum in Yemen said that she would rather die than be forced to return home and marry a man she did not love.

“She has repeatedly said that she would kill herself if she was forced to return home and not be allowed to marry her beloved Arafat”, Abul Rageeb Al Ghadhi, the girl’s lawyer, told Gulf News.

The girl’s case came to the fore when the Saudi daily Okaz reported in mid-October that a Saudi man’s 21-year old daughter Huda had been abducted from their house in the Saudi province of Asir. Nearly ten days after her disappearance, Huda appeared before a Yemeni court saying that she was not abducted but willingly ran away from her family’s home to Yemen when her family refused her beloved’s marriage proposal.

The girl told the Saudi website Okaz Al Youm that she and Arafat had been in contact with each other on the sly for three years. “I love him and I told my family that I would only marry him.

Tags: forced, forced marriage, forced marriage unit, halo project, haloproject, honour, honour based violence
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Girls still sent to Kashmir for forced weddings

Published: December 4th, 2013 Updated: December 1st, 2021

MUZAFFARABAD, 18 November 2013 (IRIN) – From a distance, Jalila Ahmed* and Nabila Ahmed* look like ordinary village girls in their late teens, shopping at the local bazaar in a suburb of Mirpur, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

But move in a little closer, and the differences are more obvious: they struggle to communicate with the vendors, sometimes giggling between themselves as they try to find a name for a particular vegetable or herb. When they speak to each other, they do so in English, with an accent closer to Bradford than Bahawalpur. But they are careful, because they have been told not to talk to each other.

The two teenagers, distant cousins, say they were both forced into marriages a year ago, after being brought to Mirpur from the UK to “attend a family wedding.” It was only after they arrived in the city that they discovered the marriages they were attending were their own, both to distant relatives.

undreds of cases of forced marriage are thought to take place annually, involving British nationals married against their will in Kashmir, particularly in and around the industrial town of Mirpur. Since the late 19th century, Kashmir has had a large diaspora – estimated to be around one million – with many communities concentrating in British cities like Bradford, Glasgow and London. To preserve their culture and traditions, some families favour sending their children – particularly daughters – back to Kashmir.

Campaigners say such marriages are cruel, leading to “murders and chaos”, either as couples fail to get along or when young women resist. Shafilea Ahmed, 17 years old at the time of her murder nine years ago in the UK, was the victim of one such crime, which made headlines when her parents were brought to trial.

Tags: Female genital mutilation, forced, forced marriage unit, halo project, honour
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Moroccan Teenager Forced To Marry Her Rapist Kills Herself

Published: December 3rd, 2013 Updated: November 30th, 2013

Forced to marry the man who had raped her, a 16-year-old Moroccan girl committed suicide last month. She had been raped by another minor in the northern port city of Tetouan. As Abdel Ali El-Allawi, director of the local chapter of an international NGO, the Moroccan Association of Human Rights (AMDH), said to Al Jazeera, the rapist was first put into prison but that his family “entered negotiations with the family of the victim” and proposed that their son marry the teenager; her family assented.

Under Article 475 of the Moroccan Penal Code, rapists who marry their victims can be exonerated from their crime. He cannot be prosecuted unless the woman is able to obtain a divorce, a situation that is highly unlikely as, under Moroccan law, the decision of a judge authorizing such a marriage cannot be reversed.

Pressure to repeal the law rose last year after the suicide of 16-year-old Amina Filali, who killed herself with rat poison after she had been forced to marry her rapist who was ten years older than her. She had also been regularly beaten by her husband and mistreated by his family, whom she lived with after being married. After her suicide, her rapist was summoned by the police and then released.

Khadija Riyadi, president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, explains that a woman who loses her virginity is considered unmarriageable and guilty of dishonoring her family, even if she was raped.

Last year, women’s rights groups like Mouvement Alternatif pour les Libertés Individuelles (MALI) and women’s rights activists demonstrated and demanded that Article 475 be repealed. The calls to do so spread beyond Morocco, with a Twitter hashtag #RIPAmina calling for Article 475 to be eliminated.

Tags: forced, forced marriage, halo project, honour, kidnap, victims
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Forced marriage and the “lawfully wedded” wife

Published: December 1st, 2013 Updated: November 30th, 2013

Today, on the 32nd International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill reaches the Committee stage of the House of Lords. The Bill introduces a raft of measures covering matters as diverse as dangerous dogs, extradition proceedings, firearms and, tucked away in Part 10, forced marriage. Forced marriage is to be criminalised. “Was it not already?”, you may ask. The current law Forced marriage is where one or both parties to a marriage lack consent and duress is a factor. Forcing an individual to marry is a breach of Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights: the right to marry and found a family (a right which includes the requirement that parties to the marriage have given full consent). It has been the subject of legislation since the introduction of the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007, which made a civil remedy available to victims.

This took the form of a Forced Marriage Protection Order (FMPO). Under the Act, victims of forced marriage and those facing forced marriage are able to apply for a FMPO. Relevant third parties, such as local authorities, are also able to apply for FMPOs and third parties not designated “relevant” can apply for the order with the permission of the court. A power of arrest can also be attached and the breach of a FMPO is treated as contempt of court. A FMPO made under this legislation is wide reaching and can apply to conduct both inside and outside England and Wales. How this will change The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill will criminalise the breach of these civil orders, as well as creating the specific offence of forcing someone to marry. Under the new legislation, breach of a FMPO will now carry a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment.

Tags: cultural stereotypes, forced, forced marriage, forced marriage unit, Foreign Office, halo project, honour, honour based violence
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Honour-based family violence often unreported, say experts

Published: November 29th, 2013 Updated: November 25th, 2013

Calgary police and educators are learning about how to recognize and deal with honour-based violence.

Social agencies say such violence is prevalent in the city and often involves child and spousal abuse.

“What we see, what makes it into the news, is simply the tip of the iceberg when it comes to these types of issues,” says John Winterdyk, president of the Alberta Community Crime Prevention Association.

The two-day conference is sponsored by Alberta Community Crime Prevention Association and includes police, teachers, lawyers, health-care workers and judges. Aruna Papp, the keynote speaker on Monday, agrees that most honour-based crimes still go unreported. “How do we prevent it? We are not training the professionals. There always seems to be less funding,” she said.

Papp is a victim of honour-based violence, which is defined by organizers in a press release as violence that “stems from a matrix of cultural values premised on women’s inferiority.” Papp says it happens when girls and women who are new to the country embrace Canadian values. “They go to school and they are taught that you can think for yourself, you can make decisions for yourself, you can choose your spouse, you can choose your career,” she said.

Tags: forced, forced marriage, halo project, haloproject, honour, violence
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Schools need to do more over forced marriage dangers

Published: November 26th, 2013 Updated: November 25th, 2013

Schools must do more to warn children about the dangers of forced marriage, the Lords was told today.

Labour spokeswoman Baroness Thornton said there was evidence that schools were doing “very little to ensure pupils are informed about forced marriage and offer them necessary support if they need it”.

She added: “In fact there is some evidence that some schools are putting students at risk by contacting family members when children had consulted teachers in confidence.” Lady Thornton was speaking during committee stage debate on the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill, which makes forcing someone into a marriage a criminal offence.

The Opposition was calling for front line staff to be given better guidance on how to deal with the problem. Lady Thornton said the Department for Education did not treat forced marriage as a “child protection issue” in many schools and criminalisation was not enough to tackle forced marriage on its own.

Schools, colleges, police, doctors, social services and airport staff must be aware of what to look for and the appropriate action that needed to be taken. Action taken was not “uniform or adequate” at present, she said.

Tags: forced, halo project, haloproject, honour based violence, marriage, marry, violence
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Forced marriage: Ayesha was repeatedly beaten, raped and then twice almost murdered by her own family

Published: November 10th, 2013 Updated: December 1st, 2021

She grew up like most teenage girls in Britain – coveting the latest fashions, experimenting with make-up and hanging out with her mates after school.

Her Muslim parents, who ran a shop, were respected members of the community. Ayesha, whose name we have changed to protect her identity, was always encouraged to follow her dream of becoming a police officer. But immediately she turned 18, she was taken on a family holiday to Pakistan – and her carefree life would never be the same again. Days after arriving, she was forced by her father and two uncles into marrying a stranger.

Terrifyingly, it led to her being trapped in a marriage for four-and-a-half years, during which she was routinely raped. When she dared to complain, she was threatened by her uncles. And when she tried to flee, they tracked her down and tried to kill her. Ayesha eventually escaped, and today bravely tells her story to expose the growing problem of forced arranged marriages that is sweeping our towns and cities.

Each year 10,000 take place in the UK, and last month a shocking ITV documentary caught 12 Muslim clerics agreeing to marry off girls aged only 14. Those youngsters who put up a fight often fall victim to honour-based violence, which can end in murder. even now Ayesha lives in hiding to protect herself.

As part of her campaign to raise awareness, she works with the police to help support other victims. Ayesha, now 36, says she enjoyed a “pretty normal school life”. She adds: “My parents were strict about not being allowed to mix with boys, go clubbing, have sleepovers or bare my legs. But apart from that I had a relaxed upbringing.” She reveals how aged 17 she begged to be allowed to live in a flat-share while attending college.

“My parents finally gave in,” she says. “I went to the pub, had a drink and smoked, but didn’t go off the rails. Then things started to get weird. “My uncle started turning up on my doorstep, saying I was bringing shame on our family. He said that if I ever left, he had a network of people and he would find me and kill me.

“I didn’t want to live the life of an Asian Muslim girl. I was British and I wanted to be just like everyone else… so I ran.” But her family used a series of tricks to find her. “First they reported me to the police for theft,” she says.
Read More: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/forced-arranged-marriage-young-british-2715692#ixzz2kFQJB7oS

Tags: forced, forced marriage, halo project, honour, victims, violence
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Judge admits he is powerless to quash marriage of British Muslim girl who was taken to Pakistan and forced to wed at gunpoint aged 14

Published: November 10th, 2013 Updated: November 9th, 2013

A judge says he cannot nullify the marriage of a teenage mother who says she was forced at ‘gunpoint’ into becoming a bride when she was just 14.

Instead the girl, now 17 and a mother of a one-year-old, must defy her family if she wants the union formally annulled, said Mr Justice Holman at the High Court.

The teenager, who was born in Britain and whose family has lived here for 40 years, says she was shipped out to Pakistan to contract a forced marriage with a 24-year-old man two years ago.

She told how she was subjected to ‘harrowing’ violence and menaced with a gun to go through with the ceremony – and was two weeks later forced to have sex with her ‘husband’, giving birth to his baby who is now aged just over one.

After she came forward with her account, her local authority took both her and her baby into care and asked Mr Justice Holman to formally declare that her marriage – which effectively made her a rape victim – could never have been recognised under English law.

However, in a unique decision, the judge ruled that – although the girl was under extreme duress and aged under 16 at the time – he was barred by statute from granting a declaration that her marriage was ‘at its inception, void’.

Expressing sympathy for the girl and the ‘real stigma’ she faced, the judge said his hands were tied and he simply had no power to make a formal ruling that ‘there never was a marriage’ capable of recognition in England and Wales.

Tags: forced, halo project, haloproject
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Court refuses declaration of non-recognition of forced marriage of 14 year old girl

Published: November 9th, 2013 Updated: November 9th, 2013

Declaration barred by section 58(5) of Family Law Act 1986

Mr Justice Holman has dismissed an application, brought by a local authority in the course of care proceedings, for a declaration of non-recognition of the marriage of a British girl, then 14, conducted in Pakistan under circumstances of extreme duress.

In A Local Authority v X & Anor [2013] EWHC 3274 (Fam) the court heard that X, the girl, was born in England in 1997. Her parents had immigrated to England from Pakistan some 40 years earlier. In 2011, aged 14, X travelled with her father and brother to Pakistan where, under considerable duress involving the production of a gun and physical violence upon her, she underwent a ceremony of marriage to a 24 year old man. The marriage was consummated two weeks later and X became pregnant. She returned to England and the baby was born in the autumn of 2012. The local authority commenced care proceedings in relation to X and the baby.
Within the care proceedings the local authority, with the support of X through her Guardian, sought a declaration of non-recognition of the marriage in Pakistan.

The court found that X was domiciled in England at the time of the marriage and the validity of the marriage was therefore governed by the Marriage Act 1949. Pursuant to that Act which stipulates that a marriage between persons either of whom is under 16 shall be void, the marriage was found to be void. The case of Pugh v Pugh [1951] P 482 establishing that the statutory provisions as to minimum age are extra-territorial in effect was approved.

Holman J said:

“On the facts as I have recounted them, there is no question but that X herself, who is now approaching the age of seventeen, could present a petition for nullity on the ground that her marriage is void on the ground that at the date of the marriage she was under the age of sixteen.” However, Vanessa Meachin, counsel for X, said that it was too much to expect X, at any rate at her present age and stage in life, herself to take an active step that would be so defiant of her parents and family as herself to petition for a decree that the marriage that they forced her to enter into was void.

Tags: child exploitation, forced, forced marriage, halo project, haloproject, honour based violence, rape, victims, violence
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Posts Tagged ‘forced’