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England moves to ban forced marriages
British Prime Minister David Cameron likened forced marriages to 'slavery'. 46% of cases in 2012 involved...
Forcing someone into a marriage will become a criminal offence in England and Wales, with the maximum sentence to be set out in a new law.
LONDON: Britain’s government on Friday announced plans to make forced marriage a criminal offence, with parents who coerce their children into marrying to face “very tough punishments”.
Prime Minister David Cameron said forced marriage had been tolerated as a cultural practice in Britain’s Asian community for too long and was “little short of slavery”.
“For too long in this country we have thought ‘well, it’s a cultural practice and we just have to run with it’,” he said. “We don’t. It’s a crime.”
“You are taking 15, 16-year-old British citizens, taking them off to another country against their will, marrying them with someone against their will.”
“It is an absolutely abhorrent practice,” he added. “It is, frankly, little short of slavery.”
“If you commit that sort of offence you’ll get a very, very tough punishment.”
The government’s Forced Marriage Unit said 46 per cent of the nearly 600 cases of forced marriage it dealt with between January and May this year involved Pakistani nationals.
Some 45 per cent of the victims were younger than 18, the agency said, and 87 per cent of the victims were female.
Forcing someone into a marriage will become a criminal offence in England and Wales, with the maximum sentence to be set out in a new law.
The legislation will distinguish between forced marriage and arranged marriage, in which both bride and groom consent to the union.
Scotland had passed a similar law in November introducing a maximum two-year jail sentence for forced marriage.
Campaigners have warned that criminalising the practice could discourage victims from coming forward because they do not want their relatives to face jail.
In response to these concerns, the government has announced extra funding of £500,000 ($771,000, 619,000 euros) to help identify and support victims.
Reader Comments (27)
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About time something is done of this abhorrent practice.
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Excellent step. Such practices have no place in civilised societies like the one in United Kingdom.
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finally showing some spine
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My dream is that one day such a law will not only be passed but actually be implemented in Pakistan. 50 years or 100 years, just one day.
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A very good move made by the British Government.
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Good move.
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Abhorent or not it is ingrained into the fabric of Islam. How do yoy justify someone marrying a 6 year old. Still, what must you think of someone who does that?
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The UK PM said “David Cameron said forced marriage had been tolerated as a cultural practice in Britain’s Asian community for too long and was “little short of slavery”.”
He should not mince words and be honest and open. Forced marriage of underage girls is actually rape of under age kids. The family and the groom must be punished for exactly the crime of raping underage kid. How would the law react if local white natives do this same thing with their underage daughters?
In fact the govt should go one step further and require a marriage certificate for each marriage. The certificate issuing authority should have the responsiblity to make sure that it is not a forced marriage especially of underage kids. In the US there are religious rituals but there is a marriage license as the only valid proof of marriage.
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This is a discriminatory move against the asian community in the UK.
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@Mawali
Get your facts right. It’s 9 years, not 6 as you mentioned. You exaggerated it by 50%.
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It’s an assault on a community’s custom,tradition,value system and way of life.
And they claim to be tolerant,liberal,secular and what not.
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@TightChuddi,
If you don’t like it, leave.
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usa,uk and europe are worried about increase rate of divorce but again they concentrate only in asian society they should also concentrate in there own society and find why divorce rate increaseRecommend
Forced marriages are common in islamic societies
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@Cynical: no,its 6 years
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@Pinto:
No my friend Islam infact prohibits such acts… Both the sides i.e the groom and the bride needs to agree to the marriage. As you might have seen before the Concept of approval is also islamic. And is an essential part of the islamic marriage i.e the Nikaah without which the marriage is considered to be nullified. So again stop criticising a particular religion, specially the one which forbids the act in the first place.
Peace
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@Pinto
@Cynical: no, it’s 6 years.
Since yoy appear to be so sure, please refer to your source.
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@Cynical:
“@Mawali
Get your facts right. It’s 9 years, not 6 as you mentioned. You exaggerated it by 50%.”
Mawali is right. The marriage took place when the child was six and was consummated when she attained the mature age of nine.
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@Spider man:
Don’t keep on harping about what Islam or Quran says if no one is following either! Talk real world!
@popsaeed:
“they should also concentrate in there own society and find why divorce rate increase”
Divorce rate increase in a contorted way reinforces the basis of the law. Such an increase is manifestation of free exercise of freedom to chose and change one’s mind.
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Please check how many young girls in USA & UK get consumated without marriage at the age of 9 and by every dog passing by the street
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Anyone in Britain who thinks its an insult to their culture should return home to Pakistan and practice their culture here. Excellent step my Mr Cameron, but I doubt he will be able to implement it. When it comes to these kind of things, the US government is just as weak as ours.
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Pinto didn’t say that Islam allows arranged marriage. He said it was common in Islamic societies and I challenge anyone to prove this statement wrong.
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@Steve
@TightChuddi,
If you don’t like it, leave.
Sorry, can’t oblige.
God almighty created this world and we the followers are natural heir to all his properties.
We are entitled to live any where we like.We particulary like the places where we are not much liked and our way of life is frowned upon.
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@steve
nice 1 mate.
if u dont like british rules then go back to your own country and carry on with your rules where they began. forced marriage should be forbidden it is very very wrong and cruel .
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There’s a disadvantage with this new plan. Many victims will be dissuaded from coming forward and will have to agree to marry whoever for fear that their parents would be booked and end up with a criminal record.
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@popsaeed:
Forced marriage is unethical and criminal. Divorce is not.
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@Rational:
It isn’t referred to as ‘consummated’ in the US or the UK, it is in fact rightly acknowledged as rape, because that’s what it is. And regardless, pedophilia in other countries pertains to this how exactly? Brilliant step by David Cameron. Wish Pakistan would follow suit. Let’s see, perhaps someday!
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