UK - Mother Who Forced Teen Daughter to Marry Pakistani Cousin (33) Jailed

A mother in the UK (of Pakistani origin) had persuaded her 17-year-old daughter to fly to Pakistan for a ‘holiday’ with the promise of an iPhone for her 18th birthday upon her return. However, when she arrived, her family waited for her at the airport where she was whisked off to marry her cousin, almost twice her own age.

The mother from Birmingham, who’s in her 40s, had already “introduced” her daughter to the cousin at the age of 13 when he impregnated her for a first time. The mother explained to the court that she regarded this as a "marriage contract".

In the case, which is the first successful prosecution of its type, the Judge, Mr Patrick Thomas QC said the unsuspecting victim had clearly been "sold for her passport".

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A mother has been jailed for four-and-half years at Birmingham Crown Court after duping her teenage daughter to go to Pakistan and forcing her to marry in the first successful prosecution of its type</p>&mdash; Sky News Breaking (@SkyNewsBreak) <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak/status/999241843694022656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2018</a></blockquote>

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When the girl tried to protest against the arranged marriage, her UK mother threatened to burn her passport and assaulted her.

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The judge stated: "It takes no imagination to understand the terror she must have felt. You had cruelly deceived her. She was frightened, alone, held against her will, being forced into a marriage she dreaded.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As quoted &quot;… despite the guidelines in place (they) did not recognise the mother as a perpetrator…&quot; - a dangerous narrative and worldview that still remains far too commonplace with some professionals placing many women, men and children at risk. <a href="https://t.co/994fYQx83K">https://t.co/994fYQx83K</a></p>&mdash; ManKindInitiative (@ManKindInit) <a href="https://twitter.com/ManKindInit/status/999193300971216896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2018</a></blockquote>

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“You must have known that was her state of mind. Yet for your own purposes, you drove the marriage through."

The mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison whilst her daughter escaped Pakistan and returned to the UK, starting a court case against her own family.

Related coverage: https://thegoldwater.com/news/23171-India-Rape-And-Murder-Of-8-Year-Old-A-Major-Problem-For-PM-Modri

Prosecutor Ms Deborah Gould read a statement prepared by the young girl to the court, in which she said being proud of herself for coming forward and hoping that her action makes it possible for other young women in similar situations to ask for help.

Source:

https://www.iol.co.za/news/world/uk-mom-forced-teen-daughter-to-marry-cousin-33-15117877