The global issue of forced marriage is sadly still a reality for many women around the world today. In the United States, a recent case of forced marriage has come to light in which a woman was kidnapped by her family and taken to Yemen in order to be married off to an unknown man.
The woman, who has remained unnamed, had invited her family to her wedding in Mexico last September. However, her father, mother, and brothers conspired to kidnap her and take her back to the United States instead. Once there, her family allegedly locked her in their home, put her under constant supervision, and even impersonated her in order to withdraw her from classes at the University of Buffalo and delete her social media accounts.
The family then attempted to force her fiancé to pay them a dowry of $30,000 for their marriage, but after the woman intervened, her father threatened to throw her from the 12th story of the hotel where they were staying. After an agreement was made between her father and her fiancé, the family tricked the woman into going to Egypt, where they planned to arrange a marriage to an unknown man in exchange for $500,000.
The woman was allegedly told that if she did not comply, she would be locked up in her home forever and her fiancé would be killed. The woman is now being held in Yemen under the watch of two of her brothers and charges of kidnapping are pending against her father and brother.
The difference between an arranged marriage and a forced marriage is the difference between consent and coercion. While an arranged marriage may be the result of cultural factors, a forced marriage may be the result of a victim being deceived, threatened, or abused. The United Nations Population Fund estimates that as many as 5,000 women are killed annually around the world for reasons of honor.
It is time for more attention to be paid to this issue of forced marriage and for victims to receive the help and support they need. The Justice Department has taken a stand against this type of abuse and is working to ensure that victims can safely escape their forced marriage. It is up to the rest of us to help ensure that those affected by forced marriage are not forgotten, and that they can receive the help they need to fight back against their abusers.
