Not sure if racist...

[pktechgirlbackup]

UK anti-forced-marriage charity is recommending girls who are flying to their parents' countries of origin and believe they'll be forced to marry place spoons in their underwear, so they will trigger a private security screening, where they will be able to tell an authority figure . Not to take a pro-forced-marriage position, but I have several problems with this.


1. Then what? Is an accusation of planned forced marriage sufficient for the girls to emancipate themselves? Is there financial and support available for girls who do so?

2. Even if that exists, how much proof does it require? How sure does the girl have to be? If I suspect my parents are the kind to force me to marry, but they haven't said anything about this particular trip being The Trip, what do I do?

3. The charity is named Karma Nirvana, two things that don't really have anything to do with their stated mission of preventing forced marriages and honor-based abuse. I was going to suggest something really unkind about this being a straw charity designed to disparage Muslims, but I looked it up and the CEO has a Muslim-Punjabi name. So maybe I should just shut up now.

Comments

[crystalpyramid]

Are arranged marriages just a Muslim thing? My Hindu students seem to place a huge emphasis on marrying someone who is acceptable to their family.

[pktechgirl.livejournal.com]

My vague sense was that this was primarily targeted at muslims, but you're definitely right.