British Bangladeshi parents jailed for 8 years for forcing daughter to marry

Send
Aditi Khanna, London
Published : 14:01, Jul 31, 2018 | Updated : 16:55, Aug 04, 2018

Representational imageA British Bangladeshi couple who tricked their teenage daughter into travelling to Bangladesh in an attempt to force her to marry her first cousin has been sentenced to a total of eight years in jail by a UK court.
The family, none of whom can be named for legal reasons, had been convicted under the UK’s Forced Marriage Act in May and sentenced for the crime at Leeds Crown Court on Monday.
The judge sentenced the father to four-and-a-half years and the mother to three-and-a-half years for using violence, threats or coercion to force their daughter into marriage.
During a three-week trial earlier in the year, a jury heard that in 2016 the couple’s daughter, then 18, was taken out of college during term time for what she thought was a six-week holiday to Bangladesh to see family and celebrate Eid.
She was told of the marriage plans less than a week after arriving in the country. When she refused to take part, her parents threatened her with violence, her father saying he would slit his throat.
In an impact statement read to the court on Monday, the woman, who was born and grew up in Leeds, northern England, and is now 20, described how she lived in hiding, in fear of her family and community.
She said: “I know I will always have to remain cautious but, knowing those monsters are going to be in prison, I feel the uttermost freedom in my heart.
“I want other girls to know that forcing someone to marry is wrong. I want to be able to give a message to my siblings and other people who find themselves in this situation that life does go on. I want my elders to know that it is illegal and you can’t treat family like this.
“I want to be able to hold my head high knowing that I stood up for what is right. I want to be able to live knowing that I will not be a victim for my parents’ honour and reputation. I will not live in shame. I am now free.”
With the help of her younger sister, she was able to contact the British High Commission in Dhaka, who rescued her days before the wedding was due to take place.
The court was shown desperate messages sent by the daughter to her boyfriend back in Leeds after she found out about her parents’ plans.
The legal offence of forced marriage came into effect in the UK in June 2014 and this marks only the second conviction of its kind. In the second case, a British Pakistani mother was jailed for forcing her daughter to marry a relative almost twice her age earlier this year.
According to the UK government’s Forced Marriage Unit (FMU), the four countries with the highest number of cases of British nationals being forced into a marriage against their will last year were Pakistan (439), Bangladesh (129), Somalia (91) and India (82).

/ssz/up-ni/
Top