LONDON – “Apnar pochondo korar odhikar ache” (You have the right to choose) said the bold poster in Bengali with a picture of two hands tied together in a chain. The UK has just launched a massive campaign to prevent and protect both men and women against forced marriages, rampant among its South Asian community – Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis.
Large prominent posters in Indian languages like Bengali, Punjabi and Gujarati are calling on friends and relatives to come to the help of those being forced into a marriage, by contacting the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) – a joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and home office unit set up in collaboration with the association of chief police officers, crown prosecution service and the ministry of justice.
The appeal reads thus, “If you or someone you know is being forced into a marriage, contact the FMU.” In 2008, over 1,600 incidents of suspected forced marriages were reported to the FMU.
It says, “The majority of cases of forced marriage reported to date in the UK involve South Asian families. This is partly a reflection of the fact that there is a large, established South Asian population in the UK.
“However, it is clear that forced marriage is not solely a South Asian problem and there have been cases involving families from East Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. Some forced marriages take place in the UK with no overseas element, while others involve a partner coming from overseas or a Briton being sent abroad.”
