England apparently has a terrible problem of forced marriages Hundreds and possible thousands of young women (mostly but not all Muslim) are taken out of high school and forced to marry - against their will - men from their country of origin. Over 2,000 female students are "missing" in England. These are registered students who aren't showing up for class and can't be located. The government has "asked to speak to the British clearance officer based in Islamabad in Pakistan to see if any of the 2,000 children are listed as having arrived there."
England is considering making forced marriages a criminal offense:
"...ministers are holding a three-month consultation to decide whether to create a specific criminal offence of forcing someone to marry."
"The joint Home and Foreign Office forced marriage unit has dealt with 1,000 cases over the past four years."
"....The government would also want to be able to prosecute in the case of forced marriages that take place overseas, where the perpetrator and the victim are British citizens."
"BBC crime correspondent Neil Bennett says hundreds, possibly thousands of Britons, come under this kind of pressure from within their communities."
"It is not only linked to so-called honour killings, where families take revenge on individuals who resist their wishes, but a high suicide rate among young Asian women."
Hmmm, how much of that goes on in the United States? What recourse does a young women - some as young as 12 - have when faced with this horrible betrayal by her own parents?
Thanks for your Blog :) God Bless you
Posted by: Christian | March 14, 2008 at 08:51 AM