Rachel Choi
In January 2020, 21-year-old Ruqia Haidari was murdered by her husband in their Perth home following six weeks of living in a forced marriage, arranged by Haidari’s family. Mohammad Ali Halimi had paid Haidari’s family $15,000 to marry her, without her consent. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his wife, while members of Haidari’s family were arrested for threatening Haidari to enter into the marriage.
It is estimated that 22 million people are currently living in forced marriage. This number has increased by 6.6 million since 2016. Unfortunately, the majority of forced marriages are arranged by family members, like Haidari’s, with parents accounting for 73% of those who initiate forced marriages.
Forced marriage is defined as a marriage where either or both parties have not provided full and free consent, as a result of being threatened, coerced or deceived, or otherwise lacking capacity to make an informed decision.
Incidences of such forced marriages rarely make headlines in the media, however, it is a phenomenon that not a single country in the world has successfully eliminated, including Australia.
Child marriage as a form of forced marriage
Two in five people in a forced marriage are children (under the age of 18). While the Sustainable Development Goal 5.3 aims to eliminate child marriage by 2030, we are a long way from achieving that. Global child marriage rates are highest in South Asia, contributing to 44% of child marriages worldwide, while one in four South Asian women get married as children.
Child marriage is often associated with a greater risk of domestic violence and early pregnancies, which is correlated with increased maternal mortality rates as a result of young girls giving birth when their bodies are not yet fully developed for bearing children. Moreover, forced marriages place women and girls in a vulnerable position, as they may commit suicide or face retaliation from their family in their attempts to avoid or escape the marriage.
What factors contribute to forced marriages?
Among the multitude of factors that increase the prevalence of forced marriages, deeply-set cultural norms and religious views are one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome. For example, despite having to be 18 or older to marry in Bangladesh, the country has more than four million child brides, and this is an accepted custom. Further, the stigma around premarital sex and the social connection between a girl’s virginity and her family’s ‘honour’ perpetuates the cycle of girls marrying young. As a result, in some countries, a rapist can be free from all criminal liability if he marries his victim.
Traditional social values on gender also play a role as girls are viewed as a financial burden compelling families to sell their daughters, as opposed to their sons, just to survive. For example in Mali, where 54% of girls are married as children, families exchange their daughters for a dowry, thus perpetuating the view that these girls become the property of their husbands. Moreover, in regions of extreme poverty, some families genuinely believe that marrying off their daughters will safeguard their lives and allow them to live in greater prosperity.
Furthermore, crises including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and armed conflicts can all contribute to displacement, financial instability and a drop in education rates which facilitate the rise of gender-based violence and increase the risk of forced marriages. In addition, inadequate laws or loopholes in the law facilitate opportunities for forced marriages to take place. Only earlier this year did the UK Government finally crack down on the loophole which had allowed forced child marriages to occur, by making it illegal for 16 and 17-year old children to get married regardless of parental consent. Meanwhile, there are still no legal protections for children in the UK forced into customary or religious marriages that are unregistered.
Next steps
In order to address this global issue of forced marriage, it will be crucial to focus on the entrenched beliefs that girls’ and women’s only purpose in life is to get married and bear children. Further, a gender-specific solution, focusing on women and girls specifically, will be important considering they are the most vulnerable and affected group. Increasing access to education for girls and ensuring that they continue going to school may assist in reducing forced marriage. Educating not only girls but the general public on the harms of child marriage and reinforcing laws to prevent the exploitation of loopholes that enable child marriages will be essential in the movement towards protecting children from forced marriages. In addition, improving access to healthcare and reproductive health services is critical to protecting young girls who are at risk of early pregnancies in the context of forced child marriages.
Rachel Choi was an intern with the Australian Human Rights Institute in Term 3, 2023.