Cousin marriages condemned

Labour’s Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, Britain’s first Muslim peer has taken a controversial step to condemn arranged cousin marriages.

The Peer has spoken out after the recent high profile cases of Asian from his home town -Rotheram, Blackburn and Derby.

Yesterday the media was awash with comments made by the peer.

Writing for the Daily Mail, Abul Taher reported; 'A senior Muslim politician has blamed unhappy arranged marriages to cousins for leading some Pakistani men to prey on vulnerable young white girls to fulfill their sexual needs.

'Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, Britain’s first Muslim peer, is the first politician to make a link between first-cousin marriages and sex crimes by Pakistani men.

'Lord Ahmed, who wants an end to cousin marriages, said: ‘They are forced into marriages and they are not happy. They are married to girls from overseas who they don’t have anything in common with, and they have children and a family.

'His comments come weeks after former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw provoked national outrage by saying that some Pakistani men look at white girls as ‘easy meat’ for sexual abuse.

'Studies have shown that 55 per cent of British Pakistanis marry their first cousins, usually from abroad. In Bradford, the figure is as high as 75 per cent.

‘Although marriages between first cousins is lawful in Britain, it is frowned upon by many who see it as a form of incest. In America, the practice is illegal in 30 states.

‘First-cousin marriages among other British Muslim groups such as Bangladeshis or Indians are less prevalent.

‘A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We should not jump to form conclusions about national patterns of offending without further analysis.’

‘Health experts have previously warned British Pakistanis to reduce the number of cousin marriages as it is leading to a high number of genetic birth defects in the community.’

It isn’t clear when and where Lord Ahmed made the statements but the timing of his campaign is bound to cause some disquiet.

However, Lord Ahmed is one of many who have sought to highlight the issue.

In 2005 former Labour MP Ann Cryer called for an end to the practice, and an open debate on the issue.

Mrs Cryer, who was later embroiled in the MP expenses scandal, spoke out because her constituency in the Bradford area has high rates of cousin marriage that are above the national average.

The former MP is still campaigning on the issue and last year urged male victims of forced marriages to speak out after figures revealed the number of cousin marriages in the area had risen by more than a third.

Speaking to the Bradford Telegraph and Argus last July the former Keighley MP urged ‘victims, teachers, doctors, solicitors and civil servants to report cases of men being forced to marry and put an end to the ‘secrecy’ surrounding the taboo’.

The paper reported that ‘Figures show a 65 per cent jump in reports to the Government’s Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) over the last two years about men entering forced marriages.

Mrs Cryer said: “We need to change hearts and minds by talking about these things. If we are not going to talk, we are not going to change anything.”

The paper reported that ‘Many men have been forced to marry by their families because they suspect they are gay, or to cousins in arranged marriages, she said. Others have been beaten or starved for refusing to enter a forced marriage.

‘In total, there have been 220 calls to the FMU helpline from men, compared with 134 in 2008.’

Men in Yorkshire make up 15 per cent – or 33 – of the total number of cases reported to the FMU.

Mrs Cryer said male victims or others acting for them could now apply for a forced marriage protection order, measures she campaigned for while in Parliament.

The orders can prevent a forced marriage taking place or protect someone when a marriage has already happened.

In support Shipley Conservative MP Philip Davies said it was encouraging that more men were reporting incidents of forced marriage.

He said; “This is recognition that, since the law changed, people have been willing to come forward,” he said. “It is starting to uncover how big a problem this has always been.”

The paper reported that the practice remains popular because the community believes there are real benefits to marrying in the family. Many British Pakistanis celebrate cousin marriage because it is thought to generate more stable relationships.

Winsome-Grace Cornish