British Muslim lawyers tackle forced marriage 'crisis'

British Muslim lawyers have come up with an action plan to root out forced marriage in their community, in a report published Thursday. The Muslim Arbitration Tribunal (MAT) believes British Muslims must take matters into their own hands to tackle the "crisis" of forced marriages between British citizens and spouses from South Asia, often used as a back-door way for them to gain entry to Britain.
In its report, "Liberation from Forced Marriages", the MAT claimed that more than 70 percent of marriages in the Muslim community involving a foreign spouse have some element of coercion or force. The organisation also claimed young Muslims in Britain were alienated from mosques and "under siege" from older generations.
Marriages without consent, or people refusing them, have led to suicides and honour killings in Britain, shocking a nation generally deemed to have successfully absorbed immigrant communities and practices. The MAT has proposed a voluntary system whereby a British Muslim seeking to bring a foreign spouse into the country would provide testimony before a panel of Muslim judges.
If they are satisfied that the marriage was not forced, the MAT judges would provide a written statement which the Briton could use to support the foreign spouse's application to settle in Britain. Without the declaration, immigration officers would be able to "draw such inferences deemed appropriate as to the status of the marriage," the report said.
"The initial idea is for the Muslim community to be able to deal with their own issues themselves," an MAT spokesman told AFP. "The majority of victims are young, professional adults who live in this country. "Thus far, the communities we have approached support the idea that they should be sorting themselves out. So far, they have failed to do so.
The MAT wants to work in conjunction with the government to clamp down on forced marriages in Britain. It also wants a summit on forced marriages with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
The MAT was established last year to help the Muslim community resolve disputes in accordance with Islamic law - while within English law - without having to resort to costly and time-consuming litigation. Britain's Forced Marriage Unit (FMU), established in 2005, receives around 5,000 calls and deals with about 300 cases per year.
The MAT report said: "These figures reflect the crisis that has loomed within the Muslim community without being noticed or dealt with for the past two decades. The figures that are reported to the authorities are only the tip of the iceberg. Forced marriage is not outlawed in Britain, but rape, domestic violence and kidnap laws are used to prosecute instead. The FMU said 65 percent of its cases involved Pakistani nationals and 25 percent involved Bangladeshi nationals.