Follow-up to: Children still forced into overseas marriages despite 2014 law
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/7...8c0f0aca39
EXCERPT: . . . In the UK, forced marriage is illegal and has been since 2014. This includes if people are taking someone abroad or bringing them into this country for this reason. Yet, in England, it's believed that only one in 30 suspected forced marriages leads to a prosecution, and it's clear many cases are still flying under the radar.
Growing up in an Indian Hindu family, I had a lot less freedom than my two brothers. They were allowed to date girls, and go to university, but I was taught how to cook and clean. I started my A-Levels but dropped out halfway through because my parents told me to not to bother - I wouldn't be going to university. Instead, I was told that I needed to learn to be a good wife.
I was born in England, after my parents moved to the UK from India in the late 1960s. They had an arranged marriage after only knowing each other for a week and have always lived separate lives - I've never seen them hug, kiss, or even hold hands.
My childhood was very difficult. I was sexually abused by a family friend, bullied at school for being the only Asian kid in my class, then groomed and beaten by an older Pakistani Muslim man. I was seen as ‘damaged goods’ because of this and, aged 19, was sent to India where I had an exorcism which was supposed to “cleanse” me. Then the process to find me a husband began. I kept saying I wasn't ready and rejecting any matches, so after two months I was brought back to the UK.
One night, a few days after I returned, I ran away to a homeless shelter. I took an overdose and slit my wrists, but was devastated to wake up alive in a hospital bed.
Just two weeks after I was discharged my parents began the process of finding me a husband, putting my name up in our local temple and setting me up on Hindu dating websites.
We saw about ten men before we found my husband a couple of months later - the first few men weren't the right fit, they were deemed either too old, too forward, or from the wrong caste.
I met them all at my parents’ house. I would be kept in another room while both sets of parents talked to the man, then I would be called in for a few minutes when the other family was ready to see me.
One day, the family of a man in his mid-20s contacted us through a temple visitor. I met him just for a few minutes. After that our families agreed we'd be married. I thought he seemed very quiet, and wrongly took that to mean he would be caring and kind....
MORE: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/7...8c0f0aca39
RELATED: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-44812530
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/7...8c0f0aca39
EXCERPT: . . . In the UK, forced marriage is illegal and has been since 2014. This includes if people are taking someone abroad or bringing them into this country for this reason. Yet, in England, it's believed that only one in 30 suspected forced marriages leads to a prosecution, and it's clear many cases are still flying under the radar.
Growing up in an Indian Hindu family, I had a lot less freedom than my two brothers. They were allowed to date girls, and go to university, but I was taught how to cook and clean. I started my A-Levels but dropped out halfway through because my parents told me to not to bother - I wouldn't be going to university. Instead, I was told that I needed to learn to be a good wife.
I was born in England, after my parents moved to the UK from India in the late 1960s. They had an arranged marriage after only knowing each other for a week and have always lived separate lives - I've never seen them hug, kiss, or even hold hands.
My childhood was very difficult. I was sexually abused by a family friend, bullied at school for being the only Asian kid in my class, then groomed and beaten by an older Pakistani Muslim man. I was seen as ‘damaged goods’ because of this and, aged 19, was sent to India where I had an exorcism which was supposed to “cleanse” me. Then the process to find me a husband began. I kept saying I wasn't ready and rejecting any matches, so after two months I was brought back to the UK.
One night, a few days after I returned, I ran away to a homeless shelter. I took an overdose and slit my wrists, but was devastated to wake up alive in a hospital bed.
Just two weeks after I was discharged my parents began the process of finding me a husband, putting my name up in our local temple and setting me up on Hindu dating websites.
We saw about ten men before we found my husband a couple of months later - the first few men weren't the right fit, they were deemed either too old, too forward, or from the wrong caste.
I met them all at my parents’ house. I would be kept in another room while both sets of parents talked to the man, then I would be called in for a few minutes when the other family was ready to see me.
One day, the family of a man in his mid-20s contacted us through a temple visitor. I met him just for a few minutes. After that our families agreed we'd be married. I thought he seemed very quiet, and wrongly took that to mean he would be caring and kind....
MORE: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/7...8c0f0aca39
RELATED: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-44812530