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Coercion, Consent and the Forced Marriage Debate in the UK

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Abstract

An examination of case law on forced marriage reveals that in addition to physical force, the role of emotional pressure is now taken into consideration. However, in both legal and policy discourse, the difference between arranged and forced marriage continues to be framed in binary terms and hinges on the concept of consent: the context in which consent is constructed largely remains unexplored. By examining the socio-cultural construction of personhood, especially womanhood, and the intersecting structural inequalities that constrain particular groups of South Asian women in the UK, we argue that consent and coercion in relation to marriage can be better understood as two ends of a continuum, between which lie degrees of socio-cultural expectation, control, persuasion, pressure, threat and force. Women who face these constraints exercise their agency in complex and contradictory ways that are not always recognised by the existing exit-centred state initiatives designed to tackle this problem.

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Notes

  1. Re KR (A Child) (Abduction: Forcible Removal by Parents) [1999] 4 All ER 954.

  2. When we refer to ‘South Asian women’ or ‘South Asian communities’ throughout this article, it is not because we are unaware of the diversity within this category; we use this term deliberately to highlight those aspects of cultural ideology and practice that are predominantly shared among (im)migrant communities originating from the subcontinent, along with those aspects of political life and history that are common to them on account of imperialism, racism, globalisation and the diasporic experience.

  3. The civil law relating to domestic violence in England and Wales is primarily contained in Part IV of the FLA.

  4. Hussein (otherwise Blitz) v Hussein [1938] P 159.

  5. McLarnon v McLarnon (1968) 112 SJ 419.

  6. Harper v Harper [1981] CLY 730.

  7. Supra n 1.

  8. Buckland v Buckland [1967] 2 All ER 300.

  9. H v H [1953] 3 WLR 849.

  10. Singh v Kaur [1981] 11 Fam Law 152.

  11. Hirani v Hirani [1983] 4 FLR 232.

  12. Mahmood v Mahmood [1993] SLT 589.

  13. Mahmud v Mahmud [1994] SLT 599.

  14. Sohrab v Khan [2002] SCLR 663.

  15. Re SK (An Adult) (Forced Marriage: Appropriate Relief) [2004] EWHC 3202.

  16. Ibid at para 7.

  17. Supra n 12.

  18. Supra n 13.

  19. The moral panic generated by the media about consanguineous marriages again smacks of cultural essentialism towards Muslims, with whom this practice is identified. Marriage with second cousins or closer relatives is practiced in many parts of the world, including North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and the US, by adherents of all major religions.

  20. Singh v Singh [1971] 2 All ER 828.

  21. Izzat has multiple connotations and overlapping meanings relating to respect, esteem, dignity, reputation and virtue, which are equated with the regulation of women’s sexuality and the avoidance of social deviation. Inherent in this code of honour is the constant striving to maintain honour and avoid shame. However, even among communities which subscribe to this code, the specific acts that are deemed to increase or erode izzat are subject to constant contestation and change, and vary among particular groups of South Asian communities in the diasporic context and in South Asia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    Sundari Anitha

  2. School of Social Sciences, Roehampton University, Roehampton Lane, London, SW15 5SL, UK

    Aisha Gill

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  1. Sundari Anitha
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Correspondence to Aisha Gill.

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Anitha, S., Gill, A. Coercion, Consent and the Forced Marriage Debate in the UK. Fem Leg Stud 17, 165–184 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10691-009-9119-4

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