By the order of God I marry you to this gentleman”.Īn arranged marriage is not the same as a forced marriage: in the former, the spouse has the possibility to reject the offer in the latter, they do not. In the next picture: The akhun – cleric says: “Lady, since you don’t say anything, it seems that you agree. The first picture in the right: Should you not want to go voluntarily, I will take you by force. The image should be read from right to left. Forced marriage is the theme for the cartoon with the caption – Free love. By the mid-20th century, many Western countries had enacted legislation establishing legal equality between spouses in family law. The period of 1975-1979 saw a major overhaul of family laws in countries such as Italy,Spain,Austria, West Germany, and Portugal. In 1978, the Council of Europe passed the Resolution (78) 37 on equality of spouses in civil law. Among the last European countries to establish full gender equality in marriage were Switzerland, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands, and France in the 1980s.Ĭriticism about the Azeri forced marriage tradition from early 20th-century satirical periodical Molla Nasraddin. The movement towards emancipation of women in the 19th and 20th centuries led to major changes to marriage laws, especially in regard to property and economic status. The actual practices varied by culture, but usually involved the legal transfer of dependency of the woman from her father to the groom. In 2013, the first United Nations Human Rights Council resolution against child, early, and forced marriages was adopted the resolution recognizes child, early, and forced marriage as involving violations of human rights which “prevents individuals from living their lives free from all forms of violence and that has adverse consequences on the enjoyment of human rights, such as the right to education, the right to the highest attainable standard of health including sexual and reproductive health”, and also states that “the elimination of child, early and forced marriage should be considered in the discussion of the post-2015 development agenda.” Historical contextĪrranged marriages were very common throughout the world until the 18th century. Typically, marriages were arranged by parents, grandparents or other relatives. In 1969, the Special Court for Sierra Leone’s (SCSL) Appeals Chamber found the abduction and confinement of women for “ forced marriage” in war to be a new crime against humanity (AFRC decision). The SCSL Trial Chamber in the Charles Taylor decision found that the term ‘forced marriage’ should be avoided and rather described the practice in war as ‘conjugal slavery’ (2012). The Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery also prohibits marriage without right to refuse of herself out of her parents’, family’s and other persons’ will and requires the minimum age for marriage to prevent this. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that a person’s right to choose a spouse and enter freely into marriage is central to his/her life and dignity, and his/her equality as a human being. The Roman Catholic Church deems forced marriage grounds for granting an annulment - for a marriage to be valid both parties must give their consent freely.
The United Nations views forced marriage as a form of human rights abuse, since it violates the principle of the freedom and autonomy of individuals.
Some scholars object to use of the term “ forced marriage” because it invokes the consensual legitimating language of marriage (such as husband/wife) for an experience that is precisely the opposite. A variety of alternative terms have been proposed, including “ forced conjugal association” and “ conjugal slavery“. There is often a continuum of coercion used to compel a marriage, ranging from outright physical violence to subtle psychological pressure. Though now widely condemned by international opinion, forced marriages still take place in various cultures across the world, particularly in parts of South Asia and Africa. A forced marriage differs from an arranged marriage, in which both parties presumably consent to the assistance of their parents or a third party such as a matchmaker in finding and choosing a spouse. Forced marriage as a way of solving disputesįorced marriage is a marriage in which one or more of the parties is married without their consent or against their will.Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery.