Forced marriages to be made illegal

Less than a week after Anita Prem launched her 24/7 help line-Freedom- to victims of forced marriages and ‘dishonour violence’, the Baroness Sayeeda Warsi has outlined a radical rethink on the issue by the Government.

Her work with the Pakistani Government has uncovered at least 124 cases involving British nationals that are on going investigations into forces marriages.

Baroness Warsi, who is Party chair and sits in the Cabinet has outlined that the ‘present system is clearly not working’ Furthermore, she adds, ‘“Forced marriage ruins lives. It can lead to rape, abuse, and unwanted pregnancies. This is a serious problem, and these figures are just the tip of the iceberg…. It is now time for the Government to consider making forced marriage a criminal offence.”

Many activist and campaigners working in this area will welcome move by Warsi and her Government, others will lament that change should have come about a long time ago and lives might have been saved.

Simon Woolley

Picture: Baroness Warsi