Forced Marriage

Introducing a Social Justice and Human Rights Perspective

Edited by Sundari Anitha , Aisha Gill

Forced Marriage brings together leading practitioners and researchers from the disciplines of criminology, sociology and law. Together the contributors provide an international, multi-disciplinary perspective that offers a compelling alternative to prevailing conceptualisations of the problem of forced marriage. The volume examines advances in theoretical debates, analyses existing research and presents new evidence that challenges the cultural essentialism that often characterises efforts to explain, and even justify, this violation of women’s rights. By locating forced marriage within broader debates on violence against women, social justice and human rights, the authors offer an intersectional perspective that can be used to inform both theory and practical efforts to address violence against diverse groups of women. This unique book, which is informed by practitioner insights and academic research, is essential reading for practitioners and students of sociology, criminology, gender studies and law.

Contents

• Foreword–Professor Yakin Erturk, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
• Introduction: Framing forced marriage as a form of violence against women (Aisha K. Gill and Sundari Anitha)
Section 1: Definitions, contexts and theoretical concepts
1. Understanding forced marriage: Definitions and realities (Geetanjali Gangoli, Khatidja Chantler, Marianne Hester and Ann Singleton)
2. Reconceptualising consent and coercion within an intersectional understanding of Forced Marriage (Sundari Anitha and Aisha K. Gill)
3. Forced Marriage: The European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act, 1998 (Shazia Choudhry)
4. Border control to prevent forced marriages: Choosing between protecting women and protecting the nation (Anja Bredal)
5. The social construction of forced marriage and its ‘victim’ in media coverage and crime policy discourses (Sundari Anitha and Aisha K. Gill)
Section 2: Policy and Practice
6. Forced marriage legislation in the UK: A critique (Aisha K. Gill and Sundari Anitha)
7. The law, the courts and their effectiveness (Teertha Gupta and Khatun Sapnara)
8. The practice of law-making and the problem of forced marriage: What is the role of the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal? (Samia Bano)
9. Constructing Victims, Construing Credibility: Forced marriage, Pakistani women and the UK asylum process (Marzia Balzani)
10. ‘Wayward Girls’ and ‘Well-Wisher Parents’: Habeas Corpus, Women’s Rights to Personal Liberty, Consent to Marriage and the Bangladeshi Courts (Sara Hossain)

About the Authors

Dr. Sundari Anitha is a Lecturer in Criminology at the School of Social Sciences, University of Lincoln. She previously worked as a manager in a Women’s Aid refuge, is currently a trustee of a specialist refuge, Asha Projects and is active in campaigning and policy-making on violence against women.

Dr. Aisha K. Gill is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Roehampton University. She is currently an active member of ‘End Violence Against Women’ Coalition (EVAW) invited advisor to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) strategic support group on investigations and complaints involving gendered forms of violence against women in the UK, and member of Kurdish Women’s Rights Watch.