Every year, many thousands of young girls, living in Muslim
inhabited communities in European countries face forced marriages. In Muslim
immigrant families, often from the Middle East, North Africa and
A women group against sexual mutilation of women, formed in
1980s in
This nightmare started in 1990s, when young girls from
Muslim immigrant families in
Forced marriage is a taboo, untouchable, and is performed
secretly. The secret is revealed when the girl suddenly behaves strangely, gets
isolated and is not doing well at school. She often breaks the silence and
talks about her painful ordeal with a friend or some teacher at school. In this
way, she unveils the bitter reality that is awaiting her. Once
the forced marriage becomes known outside the family, the real fight starts.
Zahia Hasan, chair of a women association; "Women's Voice" in
Girls, who reveal the terrible secret outside family, often
clash with their parents and leave home. They even feel ashamed and guilty of
revealing the secret and having betrayed their families and relatives. Many
young girls under a heavy family and community pressure undergo forced marriage
because they don't want to lose their families and relatives. Forced marriage
is their inevitable fate, because there is no government or social support
network to protect their rights. Forced marriages are practiced in
Early marriage is another aspect of forced marriages. Girls, 15 or younger, undergo forced marriages, are considered as part - times wives, continue to live with their parents and go to school, living with their dark and heavy secret.
In most cases, these marriages end to
divorce; according to statistics; two out of three. Rape, teenage pregnancy, disrupted education; nervous breakdown,
neurological disorders and suicide are all fruits of forced marriages for young
girls. But, their families insist that their act is decent and good for the
girls. They defend it by referring to Islam and Islamic Law; according to
which, a girl cannot marry without the consent of her father, and in the
absence of her father, that of her paternal grandfather. These families, not
only haven't been affected by advanced and modern culture in
Under French law, a forced marriage can be annulled if there has been lack of consent. But if the marriage ceremony is a customary one, the French courts cannot act. However, magistrates can intervene before a marriage takes place if an underage girl, who has broken with her family, is in physical danger.
Under the guise of respecting 'others' traditions and Islamic values, the legal system and authorities tend to overlook forced marriages. They say: "there are customs and religion, which are different from those, practiced here. It is not for us to judge these traditions and religion, unless the young girls are in physical danger and there should be proof for that."
Consider a young girl under legal age, undergoing the ordeal of a forced marriage, clashing with her family, without a legal help or a supporting social network, who must provide proof against her own parents in the court, in order to get rid of this nightmare. Isn't it inhumane and shameful? What is respectable in this misery imposed on these innocent young girls? What is respectable in destroying and wasting lives, hopes and dreams of these girls? And of course, both 'Western' and Eastern 'intellectuals', shamelessly, tell us that "to talk of forced marriages is an Euro - centric way of looking at things."
Young girls in Muslim inhabited communities in
Girls from Muslim families are not the belongings of their families; they should be treated as equal citizens. The governments and the legal system must protect them from the harm caused by their parents. Society is duty bound to help the victims of forced marriages to recover from the emotional, mental and physical damages they suffer.