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UK: Forced Marriages In Spotlight After Pakistani Mother Convicted For Trafficking 17-Year-Old Daughter
A child bride in Pakistan. (RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP/Getty Images)
A woman of Pakistani origin was convicted and awarded a four and a half year jail sentence for trafficking and forcing her 17-year-old daughter to 'marry' a 34-year-old Pakistani man. The man had reportedly raped and caused the girl to become pregnant when she was only 13 years old. The mother had taken her daughter to Pakistan and threatened to destroy the girl's passport if she did not marry the man.
The case has brought thousands of other such cases of forced marriages among immigrants. The Guardian has reported that over 3,500 cases of forced marriages had been brought to the attention of police authorities over a three year period. Organisations working in this area have warned that the number could be many more across homes in the United Kingdom (UK).
The UK's Home Office department had told The Guardian that last year alone the government agency provided support against forced marriages in 1,200 cases. The job is made more difficult for the government due to the reluctance of the victims to report such crimes and the fact that many of the 'child brides' are trafficked to countries such as Pakistan where the marriages take place.
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