The Phenomenon of Forced Marriages in the UK - Dissertation Example

? An examination of forced marriages and its implications within the UK No: An examination of forced marriages and its implications within the UK Introduction Before the dawn of 19th century, marriages in the United Kingdom took place before English clergyman. This encouraged the trend of undisclosed marriages without parental permission and bigamous. Further, the wealthy and the affluent people took advantage of marrying underage girls, which lasted till 1740s (Dnes & Rowthorn 2002). In the year 1753, Marriage Act announced that all matrimonial ceremonies would be solemnized by the minister in a parish church or chapel of England for legal binding. Accordingly, no marriage could be solemnized of those persons who are under the age of 21 years. Disobedience of laws will be a punishable offence and will result in punishment of 14 years in jail. However, the Jews and Quakers were exempted from this law. Jews and Quakers were not restricted according to the Marriage Act of 1753 to obey the law of appearing in churches for marriage purpose. Anglican churches were also specified for nonconformists and Catholics. The condition of marrying in a specific church was removed by the Parliament through Marriage Act of 1936. The Act in question made it possible for non-religious people to marry in the registrar office in their respective towns and cities (Barlow 2005). In response to a move for equal citizenship, the Parliament in the year 1929 cut down the age limit to 16 years for either sex. This limit is still in vogue. The Civil Partnership Act, which was passed by the Parliament in the year 2004, allowed the young couple to follow the same legal rights and obligations as allowed to the couple of elderly ages (Barlow 2005). This paper analyzes the issue of forced marriages in UK and their implications within UK by evaluating some available literature and by scrutinising some law case examples. In the end, Supreme’s court’s stance related to forced marriages will be given along with a conclusion. Argument Forced marriages are threatening for UK because according to thinkers and researchers, they come under the category of abuse and violence, therefore, suitable legal steps should be taken to stop this form of abuse. This paper scrutinizes the history of forced marriages and analyzes the issue and its implications within the UK. Research Methodology The research methodology suitable for completing this paper is qualitative method in which, an in depth literature review is conducted to analyze the issue of forced marriages in UK and the processes involved. Along with a literature review, case law examples are also incorporated to gain an overview of the problem and possible solutions. Therefore, as a research methodology, qualitative form of researching is used and a literature review and case law analysis is conducted to find answers to the research problem. Literature Review Marriages can be performed before authorized registrar. Priests of churches in England and Wales are authorized to conduct marriages in the local parish. Study of marriage history of England, reveals that since inception of Marriage Act 1753 till 1837, it was the prerogative of Church of England to conduct marriages except the marriages of the Jews and Quakers. The marriages of other faiths can be held by the Registrars. Marriage Act 1949 overtook previously passed acts of marriage. The 1753 Act required presence of two witnesses at the marriage ceremony coupled with minimum marriageable age (Dnes & Rowthorn 2002). The marriages of royal family are conducted under Royal Marriages Act of 1772. According to the mentioned act, the British Royal family were required to take the permission of the ruler if anyone of them wants to get married under twenty five years of age. Marriage Act 1836 eliminated the royal family in passing the act as a separate act was passed for them in terms of marriage (Dnes & Rowthorn 2002). Forced Marriage in the United Kingdom Forced marriages are now a burning issue in the United Kingdom. The Home Secretary of UK considers it a criminal offence in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It also empowers courts in Scotland to issue protection order of those who are at risk, if not complied with; offenders could face the imprisonment of two years (Brandon & Hafez 2008). In accordance with recent surveys, approximately 8000 youngsters were the victims of forced marriages in UK. The other side of the coin is more painful. Reportedly, a girl of five years becomes a victim of forced marriage. Muslim Clergyman, Ajmal Masroor, recently revealed the sufferings of his own forced marriage that took place twenty years back. Many more victims absorbed this shock silently since they could not find themselves in a position to stand up and raise their voice against the cultural pressure, the emotional blackmailing of parents, families and tradition of tribes (Phillips & Dustin 2004). From 2008, the competent courts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland in a bid to discourage this trend, issue civil orders in line with newly introduced marriage act aiming at to protect victims of forced marriages. To make it more effective, the government of United Kingdom is seriously considering on criminalizing the forced marriage (Brandon & Hafez 2008). Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 The forced marriage (civil protection) act 2007 was presented to the Parliament by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 16 November 2006. The act in question was passed by the House of Lords on 13 June 2007, which subsequently received royal assent on 26 July 2007 (Forced Marriage (Civil Protection Act 2007). Statistics on Forced Marriage At present, forced marriage become headache of the UK. From the last six months, the forced marriage unit received 1063 complaints of expected forced marriages which show an increase of 25% in the year 2008 (Chantler 2012). Amongst them, Pakistani families are on the top and the rest depicts from other parts of the world (like South Asia, Middle East, Europe and Africa). The 40% cases dealt by FMU relate to underage marriage of people less than an age of 18. Moreover, 85 % cases belonged to the women and girls. These numbers are on the verge of increase year by year (Chantler, Gangoli & Hester 2009). In the year 2010, there were 1,735 reported cases of potential forced marriages of British citizens (Chantler 2012). In spite of that, we all agree that the figures of forced marriages reported by the FMU do not reflect full view of the grim scenario since numbers of cases are not reported (Chantler 2012). So far Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) of the United Kingdom disposed of four hundred cases in the year 2007 and approximately sixteen hundred cases in the subsequent year. Majority of them are female victim cases. The remaining cases are the male victims. The big chunk of these cases relate to south Asian Communities, in spite of different cultural and religious backgrounds. Out of them 65 percent belonged to Pakistani families and the rest to families from Bangladesh. However, the reported cases belonging to minors, who were under 18 and some of them were below the age of 13, were few. The assistance of British High Commissions in 168 cases of forced marriages is applausble. Parents should understand the consequences of forced marriages and to avoid its resolution through emotional blackmailing, parents should plat their role. Lack of education and understanding are the key factors of forced marriages. Therefore, the government in power should focus on these identified areas to streamline the things (Unit 2006). Cultural Side of Forced Marriage The comity of nation considered forced marriage a flagrant violation of human rights. Moreover, forced marriages are not allowed in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1984 which empowers a woman to marry a man of her own free will. In otherwise situation, the cited declaration considered it a form of slavery. In arranged marriages bride and the groom have the consent to marry. Contrary to that forced marriages do not require consent of the bride and the groom. It solemnized through application of coercive measures such as kidnapping, physical and mental torture besides emotional black mailing (Hester et al. 2008). The key factor in forced marriages is poverty. Poor people do not succumb to family and the community pressures. The poor parents have no other option but to marry their girls against their free will and choice due to economic reasons. They are (parents) of the view that by marrying a girl they fortunate enough to reduce the economic burden on them. In some tribes forced marriages considered a source of wealth and happiness from the groom. In many cultures, purity of a girl is determined with sexual relationship if it is established in the form of marriage. We have witnesses in a number of cases where forced marriages occur, even the girls were not physically or emotionally charged for consumption of marriage. Hence, such sexual intercourse amounts to rape (Unit 2006). Sometimes forced marriages compel the bride to leave their education in the middle since she has to fulfill the matrimonial and the family obligations. Having less power in the groom’s home, she always been vulnerable to physical violence at the hands of in-laws. The news papers filled with the stories of domestic violence. The domestic violence places her at stake as far as the mental health is concerned. The girl in her martial life has to face number of health issues linked with child birth and sexually transmitted infections. This credit goes to lack of knowledge about safe sex, care during pregnancy and control over reproduction. Since the bodies of young girls are not fully developed, increased risk of complicity during pregnancy can not be ignored (Razack, 2004, pp129-174). In some eastern culture, father, uncle or guardian has to decide the marriage of a girl as a mean to further strengthen the relationship between the two families. By way of forced marriages, tribes settle their disputes or pay back loan they owed. Besides the above, girls are used as good commodity to take care of the interest of large land owners or to safeguard family image. If a girl by mistake chooses her life partner, she has to face the wrath of family on account of violation of family respect. For this act, she has to go through unbearable miseries/pains inflicted upon her by family members (Phillips & Dustin 2004, pp531-551). Any one can witness Forced marriages of very young girls in South Asian and Middle Eastern countries. If we analyse the statistics of the United Nations, it indicates that in India. Bangladesh and Afghanistan more than fifty per cent girls are married well before attaining the age of 15.  In some countries, beautiful girls are married to the highest bidder. In Niger, Chad and Bangladesh, Child marriages took place between the ages of 15 and 18. It is interesting to note that men are tempted to forced marriage. The women who have married at a very young age are on the higher health risk as compared to their male counterpart. In a recent report published by the Forced Marriage Unit of UK, 86% forced marriages revolve around the bride and the remaining 14% around the groom (Phillips & Dustin 2004, pp531-551). Keeping in mind the menace of forced marriages and their harmful effects on the society, number of countries took initiatives to counter it. We may cite here the example of United Kingdom wherein forced marriage unit is working since 2008. The said unit providing useful information to important stakeholders e.g. social workers, educationists, law enforcers and last but not least health workers to counter the acts regarding forced marriages. To deal with the issue of human trafficking, the trafficker as per Australian law would receive sentence up to 25 years rigorous imprisonment, if found trafficking young girls to other countries for forced marriages. Norway sends the trafficker behind the bar for a period of 6 years. However, In Belgium, forced marriages are cognizable offence. Hence, the trafficker is entitled to a jail term up to 2 years coupled with a fine of 2500 Euros (Hester et al. 2008). The key players, nurturing this menace are the South Asians and the Muslim communities. Forced marriages can be a reflection of backwardness and the strict adherence to the norms of religion. The study of forced marriage portrays interplay amongst culture, religion, poverty, backwardness and state practices. Forced marriages, of course, can be one the reasons, family pride, desire of parents or social obligation. Take the example of Pakistani originated Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood, who is of the considered opinion that many forced marriages within the Pakistani community in Britain are solemnized just to provide an opportunity to a Pakistani bride from Pakistan to become British national (Chantler, Gangoli & Hester 2009). Case Examples of Forced Marriages The case of R v Ghulam Rasool [1990-1991] 12 Cr App R (S) 771 comes under the category of forced marriage. The sufferer stated in the court of law that she had resolved the issues with her family, hence had no will of prosecution of her family. In the mentioned case, the sufferer’s step-father was awarded two years detention and conditional discharge to her mother. The judge ordered her brothers to perform community service. The court prosecutes forced marriages because the court of competent jurisdiction intends to provide justice and fair play to victims against the harm done to them provided that the victims support the prosecution (R v Rasool [1990-1991]). The competent court of UK issued protection order in the case of Edirin who was just 17 years old to save her from forced marriage since she could not succumb to the coercive measures of her parents that applied on her to make her agree for the proposed marriage. She was arrested. The concerned court sentenced her eight months imprisonment on violation of forced marriage protection order (Alanen 2009). Elizabeth, a 14-year-old girl was kidnapped at knife point from Salt Lake City. Her kidnapper intended to marry her in hast against her will. Her captor intimidated to kill her parents if she made any attempt to escape. She spent nine months in a miserable condition with the rapist and a homeless street preacher (Alanen 2009). Sameem who spent seven years in Children Home in the UK, was reclaimed by her mother to be beaten and abused. Matter got worse when her teacher requested child protective services to intervene and save her from inhuman activities of her mother. Reportedly at the age of 13, her mother sent her to Pakistan and forced her to marry a man who was twice of her age. She refused to bow down and made unsuccessful attempt to commit suicide. After passage of considerable period of time, the police arrested three armed personnel outside the home of Sameem whose services were hired by her brother and mother to kill Sameem and her son to bear the taste of free will marriage (Alanen 2009). We find honor based killing in many parts of the World. United Kingdom has no exception to it. The case in example is the honor killing of Ms. Mahmood who was a British Nationalist. The British police miserably failed to protect her from her father and uncle. As per the story published in the print media of UK, Ms. Mahmood, a 20 year old Muslim girl begged the police for rescue many times before she was brutally murdered by her father and uncle. Had her fear taken seriously and well in time by the law enforcers, her life could have been saved. Later on the said girl, who reportedly humiliated her family, was raped, tortured and murdered. After a considerable period of time, her body was found wrapped in a suit case buried in a garden of Birmingham. The jury in this case awarded life imprisonment to her father and uncle when found guilty (Hester et al. 2008). Forced Marriages in other parts of the world We all agree that forced marriages of young girls are in vogue as a reality in different parts of the world. It is just not restricted to the developing world only. Even the developed world is facing this evil (Lee 2011). The whole world is in agreement on the point that this ill should be weed out from its roots. We see number of cases around us where young girls are forced to marry against their free will, even before attaining the age of 18 years. We cite here the example of Jasvinder Sanghera, who along with her sisters is originated from India, born in Great Britain, being taken out of school in England at the age of 15 by their parents and married to men whom they never met. Sanghera unlike her sisters did not accept that sort of marriage and ran away (Lee 2011). The mentioned story is a terrifying story of a girl who was forced to marry a man whom she never seen before. There are number of immigrant girls who accepted such marriages as their fate despite its disastrous consequences which includes deaths in the name of honor. The matrimony of Jasvinder drew a clear line between the forced marriage and the honor related crimes. The honor related crimes are made just to protect the name of family and the community. By this sort of attitude, they deter other girls in the family and the community not to follow the suit. The two have strong relationship with each other. The brutality involves in such marriages can not be ignored by regarding such marriages as the tradition or the culture of community. If this menace will not weed out from its roots, it may cause irreparable damages to the norms of civilized society. It is the need of the hour; we should take the bull by the horn since forced marriages are not the culture but the abuse of culture (Shah 2013). Ms Karma Nirvana, the co founder of the University of Warwick Asian Society is determined to weed out corrupt practice in the form of forced marriages. To achieve her objectives, she launched a campaign against forced marriages in educational institutions located in the high risk areas keeping in mind that a child will hold the same view as their parents have (Shah 2013). Maria, 14 year old girl residing in Greenfield, USA, was sold by her father into forced marriage. Her marriage was solemnized with a man of 18 years old just in exchange of hundred bottles of beers and few boxes of meat. Later on the spouse of the girl refused to honor the commitment made with her father. Her father called the police for the rescue of her daughter and brought back her to home. The rescue operation was carried out after consummation of their marriage (Alanen 2009). Elissa was amongst those girls of USA, who were forced to marry against their will. She was married to a polygamist named warren Jeffs in discreet against her will. Therefore, the prosecutor considered it a forced rape rather than marriage at will (Alanen 2009). Noor of Arizona was brutally murdered by her father for shaming her family by not pursuing the matrimonial relationship with a man of their parental choice. Her father was convicted of murdering her in the name of honour killing (Alanen 2009). Similar is the case of Aisha hailing from Afghanistan, who fled her marital home to save her from physical torture and abuse. She bore the brunt of her brother in law who held her down, while her spouse cut off her ears and nose with sharp knife and left her to die (Alanen 2009). Mannal, an 8 year old girl was sold into forced marriage with a man of 59 years old by her father in return of USD 8000 to get rid of his financial obligations. The Saudi Court dismissed the appeal of Mannal’s mother for divorce (Alanen 2009). Child Marriages In accordance with the definition of United Nations Convention with regard to the Rights of Child, defines a child as less than 18 years of age. Legally he or she is not considered as adulthood as per the applicable laws of the respective country. It means that those who are married below the age of 18 fall under the said definition. Marriages that are performed below the mentioned age have it own repercussions. Moreover, as per the convention, it is a flagrant violation of health and rights; therefore, falls under the category of forced marriages since girls at this young age seldom disobey the order of their elders (Gangoli, McCarry, & Razak, 2009, pp418-429). In the entire world, laws and practices of the marriages are diversified in nature. The situation of the developing countries is more alarming, where more than 70 percent of young women marry well before they attain adulthood.   In a number of countries, arranged marriages are solemnized on three reasons; a) protect their virginity; b) honor and; c) their exchange value. Besides Socioeconomic factors which plays key role in shaping up the life. In the developing countries forced marriage of a child is due to safety and economic security. Some marriages are performed below the age of 15 against the will of bride. In order to have a complete understanding, we should find out the root cause of child marriages and its associated consequences (Gangoli, McCarry, & Razak, 2009, pp418-429). Disadvantages of Child Marriages The rising pregnancies around the globe are due to child marriage well before the age of 14 years. Therefore, in most of the developing countries, 90 percent married girls gave birth before attaining the age of 18. More often young couples become sexually active as soon as they entered into matrimonial contract, sometimes even before the first menstruation. While living in the in-law’s house they bear immense pressures from the elders of the family to bear a child as soon as possible. It can be disastrous since the bodies of these couples are yet to fully develop. The girls who fall under the age bracket of 14 have to face potential risk of complication during the course of pregnancy and child birth as compared to others (Chantler, Gangoli & Hester, 2009, pp587-612). Girls who have gone through the experiences of early marriages feel incapable of dealing with the educational, social, and personal issues as compared with the girls married at an appropriate age. Their in-laws have total control on her in respect of free movement; seek advice about family size besides facing domestic violence and sexual abuse. After marrying, she seldom thinks about completion of her education that she left before marriage. Above all, she has to face great insecurities like divorce or early widowhood (Chantler, Gangoli & Hester, 2009, pp587-612). How to Prevent Child Marriages It is the high time for the respective governments and the civil society to come forward to eliminate the curse of forced child marriages and to ensure safe ways for those girls who are already married. It is the duty of law makers to legislate the legal age of 18 years for marriage without the consent of parents and more than 15 years with the consent of either party that is to say parents, guardians, and the care takers. The law to be enforced should curb those practices that permits forced marriages. Where the marriages of girls below the age of 15 is practiced, should be brought to the notice of law enforcers and the competent court of law to decide the case in accordance with law. Those who found guilty should be given exemplary punishment to deter others. Without implementing the law in its true spirit, the desired objective could not be achieved. There is a need to strengthen marriage registration system. Reporting of marriage should be compulsory. Non- reporting of marriage should attract penal action against the violator. The pre-requisite for issuance of marriage certificate would be based on identification card, birth certificate, health certificates, and evidence of enrolment in school. Government should encourage investment in educating girls, deployment of quality teachers and ideal environment to learn (Chantler, Gangoli & Hester, 2009, pp587-612). There is a need to encourage the girls for education, fees should not be charged. Provide incentives for those who deliver. For a safe sex, sexual education should introduce in the schools for the benefit of teens that are passing through the phase of adolescent. The self appraisement program should focus on human rights and gender equality, which includes the right to refuse force marriage. Investment should be made by the government to apprise young married and unmarried girls about the importance of sexual and reproductive health. This would prevent them to fall prey in HIV and other sexually transmitted deceases. Above measures will definitely contribute to eliminate child marriages (Chantler, Gangoli & Hester, 2009, pp587-612).  Forced Marriages in the eyes of Supreme Court In accordance with the ruling of Supreme Court of England, the action of Home Office to ban visa on those British Nationals who are under the age of 21 years and bring their spouse to UK is treated unlawful. The bench, who heard this case, further observed that the ban will do more harm than good. The cited measures of government, will deprive five thousands bona fide couples, ranged from 18 to 21 years, from living together in Britain (Bingham & Adams 2011). In its comprehensive judgment delivered by the judges of larger bench, it was observed that the ban on entrance of couples in the UK was nothing but to deter other aspirants of forced marriages. The court treating it as usurpation of rights that confers to couples family life by the ‘European convention on human rights’. The judges come to the conclusion that the ban on marriage visa amounts to keep bona fide youngsters at arm’s distance or forced them to live outside the territorial jurisdiction of Britain (Bingham & Adams 2011). From the decision of the competent court, large number of young couples surely takes advantage of the decision of the superior court with regard to forced marriages. The reputable senior English judges informed, "On any view, the measure was a sledgehammer but the secretary of state has not attempted to identify the size of the nut" (Travis 2011). Five judges of the superior judiciary rejected the appeal of Home Secretary to ban the non European spouses within the age bracket of 18 to 21 years from entering into United Kingdom (Bingham & Adams 2011). The four Lord Justices of the Supreme Court namely Lord Phillips, Lady Hale, Lord Clarke and Lord Wilson upheld the Court of Appeal’s ruling, taking into account that the ban was "arbitrary and disruptive". However, in an unusual manner, Lord Brown of Eaton strongly differed with the decision making of the five Lord Justices by saying that the evil of forced marriages should be addressed in its true spirit (Bingham & Adams 2011). Conclusion Statistics of the forced marriage in the UK and other parts of the world indicate that its tentacles are spreading every year. 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