The first federal study of its kind found 3,443 recorded cases in 2008 -- the most recent year with sufficient data -- in which people living in Germany were forced to wed or threatened with a forced marriage.
Most were between the ages of 18 and 21, although nearly a third of them were under the age of 17.
Almost all were female and the children of staunchly religious immigrant families, most frequently from countries including Turkey, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Those who force their own children to marry someone they don't love, or a perfect stranger, against their will are committing a brutal act of violence against them," Family Minister Kristina Schroeder said, presenting the study funded by her ministry.
More than half were beaten or otherwise physically abused to convince them to marry, while more than one in four were threatened with weapons or told they would be killed if they did not go through with the marriage.
44 per cent of the people at threat or subjected to forced marriages held German passports.
The study was carried out by a private foundation and a women's rights organisation based on data provided by victims help centres, schools and immigrant associations.
Germany last year passed legislation against forced marriages, making it a criminal act punishable by up to five years in prison and providing means for victims taken abroad to return to Germany.
Previously, the practice had been considered under the law as a particularly severe form of coercion.
COMMENTS (10)
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Not only should it be illegal but they should deport the families of both the spouse and the groom back to where they came from - that might make someone think twice about forcing their children into marriage.
The same thing is happening in Pakistan. Why to blame western countries. Don't we know about kala kari and so on.I think cousin marriages should be banned.Some times there is so much resemblance that cousins look like real brothers and sisters, I wonder why the couples don ot see this aspect in addition to bad effect on health and deterioration of genes.Forseable marriages are against Islam too,though it has been practiced for the last 1400 years.
should be no wonder that western countries dont want :sharia" .That will be giving legitimacy to these practices
@Ali: Did it even occur to you that there may be some truth to this? Sticking the head in the sand is the easiest option available and most just take it.
Right said prophet. Indeed this is a religion of high tolerance and EQUALITY for Women.
@Ali:
Please don't be thin skinned or defensive. It's your own projection, though I understand the negative consequences, considering the facts.
Out of the 3000 cases the, most are from Muslim families....this is stated as fact. But no where in the article it is implied that it's 'all Muslims' or it being a 'practice of Islam', hence naming certain countries (Serbia).
You could make a decent case or complaint about the first picture, because it's of a man hiding his face, Abro, who eloped with a girl but was being extorted for money by the girl's tribe - not sure if he's related directly to the study. However, the second picture I think is pretty good, and shows one woman in full Afghani shuttlecock Burqa, while the other woman is some mod half-haired covered practitioner. It's a contrast.
Yes, unfortunately it's true that some bigoted haters will try to imply as such. But that shouldn't be our concern, and that false perception can easily be debunked because we know it's un-Islamic and more of an extreme misogynist conservative culturalist traditional tribal societal mindset that drives it.
However, the fact that a large chunk of this crime is attributed to immigrants or new Germans that also hypocritically identify themselves as Muslims religiously, or pre-dominantly Muslim country, should be the first and most important concern to address...perceptions will take care of themselves naturally if problems are acknowledged and addressed directly, instead of trying to avoid it or hide it under the rug. One case of forced marriage, is one too many. And clearly there's a crisis of many not only with the diaspora but their countries' of origin.
Ali: They are being nice by not showing the actual percentage of muslim families from the families who committed coercion. Do you really want them to post the percentage? Just deal with the problem instead of making it worse.