When I first came across the phrase “forced marriage”, my instinctive response was that of most people: that it is an oxymoron. The whole point of marriage is that it is a consensual agreement, hopefully with a spot of romance thrown in and the approval of two families and their respective communities.
“Communities” is the operative word here, because the second thing that crossed my mind on seeing the phrase, and reading this newspaper’s excellent series over the past five days, is that this practice should shame Britain. It has no place in a modern, tolerant society, and we ought not to ignore the fact – and it is a matter of fact – that, as with other traditions that have caused such justified recent outrage, such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and honour violence, it is particular communities that we are talking about. And often particular religious traditions, too.
Stating this as a matter of fact ought not to be controversial, but in my experience it is. The point is not to isolate or target a particular and undeserving minority group; on the contrary, the motivation must be to address and ultimately eradicate practices and traditions that we as a society disapprove of. I am happy to assume, by the way, that readers of The Independent and, indeed, all right-thinking people in Britain, find the idea of teenage girls going off for summer holidays to, say, South Asia, never to return, absolutely abhorrent. I certainly do.
In the past a form of political correctness has impeded our response to such problems. That is why I was glad to see this recent series highlight the breadth and complexity of this scandal. Full story...
Related posts:
“Communities” is the operative word here, because the second thing that crossed my mind on seeing the phrase, and reading this newspaper’s excellent series over the past five days, is that this practice should shame Britain. It has no place in a modern, tolerant society, and we ought not to ignore the fact – and it is a matter of fact – that, as with other traditions that have caused such justified recent outrage, such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and honour violence, it is particular communities that we are talking about. And often particular religious traditions, too.
Stating this as a matter of fact ought not to be controversial, but in my experience it is. The point is not to isolate or target a particular and undeserving minority group; on the contrary, the motivation must be to address and ultimately eradicate practices and traditions that we as a society disapprove of. I am happy to assume, by the way, that readers of The Independent and, indeed, all right-thinking people in Britain, find the idea of teenage girls going off for summer holidays to, say, South Asia, never to return, absolutely abhorrent. I certainly do.
In the past a form of political correctness has impeded our response to such problems. That is why I was glad to see this recent series highlight the breadth and complexity of this scandal. Full story...
Related posts:
- First cousin marriages in Pakistani communities leading to 'appalling'
- Indian girls are fighting back, rejecting more and more forced marriages...
- The sad hidden plight of child grooms...
- Teenage Syrian girls are being sold into forced marriages to save their families...
- Nigerian child bride forced into marriage poisons meal, kills groom and 3 others...
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