Sakina (changed name) was born in Bangladesh yet raised in Montreal. At 16, she returned to her homeland with her parents under the pretext of visiting her sick grandmother. The young woman was then forced to marry a man twice her age – despite her resistance. The girl later wrote to her mother that she was kept in a locked room, where she was beaten and raped. After two months, her mother granted her return to Montreal. By 19, Sakina was forced to marry again. Unfortunately, this true story mirrors the fate an unconfirmed number of female immigrants in Quebec, France and the U.K.
But there is a difference between arranged marriages and forced marriages. In the former, the parents present different candidates to the young woman who is then allowed to choose after meeting the prospective family and/or the groom. In a forced marriage however, there is no such negotiation. The husband is imposed and the girl has no choice. If she refuses, she could be disowned by her family and shun from her community!
The practice of forced marriages is common in many countries, including Bangladesh and India. It is also widespread in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, in North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Studies show that the practice even exists in Italy, Portugal and among French aristocrats.
There are many reasons for such a marriage. The most common is to help a stranger obtain citizenship. Sometimes, a family living abroad is indebted to another clan back home and must share the financial resources they have obtained in their adopted country. A French or Canadian girl is worth a lot on the ‘market’ seeing as she provides access to a sought-after citizenship.
There is no official data on how many forced marriages have occurred in France and Quebec; since the marriages occur in other countries and are rarely reported. The victims are hard to reach and they struggle to discuss such a taboo subject.
This new study carried out in the Université de Montréal School of Criminology, will definitely throw some light on this long hidden, closely guarded subject and help many girls.
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