Forced marriage in Muslim Asian communities : whose right to choose? The plight of women from South Asia to the U.K.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to provide an analytical insight into the situation of women and young girls living respectively in the Muslim communities originating from the Asian sub-continent and the United Kingdom, who suffer the terrible practice of coerced marriage. The first part will define the problem vis-a-vis international human rights instruments. It is also meant to show other forms of violations carried out against women being forced to marry. At the core of the problem, two issues have to be raised. The first one is to disclose the gaps in our knowledge about religion and the practice of forced marriage in Muslim communities. Islamic recommendations are often used as a justification for the practice of this tradition, which in reality finds its roots in cultural heritage predominantly male-oriented. Accordingly, this work aims at defining the environment in which this practice is largely spread. It will encompass several study cases to define first the different reasons for the continuity of this practice and second its repercussions on women in south Asian communities in Bangladesh and Pakistan on the one hand, and the United Kingdom on the other. The second problematic displays the relationship between this harmful traditional practice and the reinvention of a new law within national as well as international frameworks, which will prevent its perpetrators from enjoying any legal or social impunity. It is hoped that this background paper, though modest, will be likely to bring the issue to the public and advocate the rights of the victims of forced marriage.