Over the past few days, there have been update reports about the case of the potential forced marriage of a British resident, who returned to her home in Bangladesh.
Dr. Humayra Abedin, a trainee general practitioner, had apparently been imprisoned in her family's home in Dhaka since August. Now, the new Forced Marriage Act in Britain, which came into effect this past month has led to an injunction against any planned marriage for Dr. Abedin. Naturally, with any stories about family life, the details are always confusing and the true story will probably never be known.
The reason I decided to import this news story here is that marriage is generally considered a sacred act in religion. In very religious societies, refusal to engage in the wedding and marriage customs is considered horrifically sinful. By applying the Forced Marriage Act to a mere British resident in Dhaka, the British government is essentially imposing its own cultural views of marriage. On the other hand, there are basic standards, and human rights surely must include the freedom of choice in marriage rather than family and religious obligation.
Although the stories have not delved into the religious practices of Dr. Abedin's family, assuming that she is Muslim, it is hard to imagine that from the time she was forced into the engagement in February until December (ten months) the wedding did not in fact take place. The reports say that she "managed to return to England" but was then tricked into returning to Dhaka in August when told that her mother had fallen ill. From August until December, the family apparently did not succeed in performing the nikah (Muslim marriage rite, which can only last a few minutes if necessary), she was sent to a mental institution, and on receiving the British court order, "Dr. Abedin's father collapsed from shock." In the last four months, it must have become totally clear to the family that Dr. Abedin was not going to marry at all in Bangladesh, but the family were unwilling to let her leave and locked her away.
Whatever actually took place, the UK Forced Marriage Act is apparently "about basic rights" (or so says the lawyer for Dr. Abedin). In essence, the UK law has rescued someone from the traditional concept of a religious marriage in a conservative cultural setting.
picture source of Dr. Abedin