UK: Seven in ten marriages 'forced'

Ruth Gledhill's blog
June 12, 2008

More than seven in ten marriages involving an English citizen and a spouse born in Asia could have an element of 'force or coercion' about them, according to document published today that contains some of the strongest language used by community leaders to date. The Muslim Arbitration Tribunal claims that forced marriages reflect a 'crisis that has loomed within the Muslim community without being noticed or dealt with for the past two decades.' The tribunal, founded last year and based in Nuneaton near Coventry, says the official figures of 300 forced marriages a yar represent the tip of the iceberg. Muslim lawyers on the tribunal council based their figures on decades of experience within the community, and from observing their own friends and families.

They believe that the number of marriages involving an element of coercion is in fact far higher than 300 a year and could represent as many as 70 per cent of those involving one foreign spouse. The tribunal is chaired by Shaykh Faiz Siddiqi and includes on its council about 75 Muslim lawyers, barristers and judges from around the country.
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