Forced marriage and international human rights norms
Regional, Culture, 3/12/2001

The Constitution of Syria has incorporated a number of international human rights norms in their provisions on fundamental rights. Thus the Constitution of Syria guarantees the right to life, personal liberty and protects the right to equality and equal protection under the law and prohibits discrimination on the ground of sex, or religion or other status.

The Syrian courts have also underscored the obligation to ensure that human rights are not undermined by cultural prejudices or practices, and recognized that forced marriage is a harmful tradition practice and can not be justified in the name of culture or religion.

However, It was Islam which declared equality between men and women. In matters of marriage a woman was given equal right to choose her life partnerÉ However, in our practical lives, we are influenced by a host of other prejudices bequeathed by history, and traditionÉ Male chauvinism and compulsions of conceited ego should not be confused with Islamic values. An enlightened approach is called for.

Forced marriage is thus clearly recognized as a violation of fundamental rights guarantees contained in the national constitution. Aspects of the practice are also criminalised by the law in each case.

Forced marriage occurs within diverse cultures, traditions, nationalities, races and religions. Available reports indicate that the incidence of such cases in the Arab states is diminishing.

As is now increasingly well-recognized, forced marriages differ from arranged marriages, a practice common with Arab communities and among Muslim communities in non- Arab countries especially in India and Pakistan. Crucially, the difference turns on consent, in that the woman concerned may consent to an arranged marriage, but does not consent to a forced marriage.

Forced marriage- any marriage conducted without the valid consent of both parties- may involve coercion, mental abuse, emotional blackmail, and intense family or social pressure. In the most extreme cases, it may also involve physical violence, abuse, abduction, detention, and murder of the individual concerned.

By definition, a forced marriage does not entail free and full consent on the part of at least one of the parties. The human right to marry, including the requirement of free and full consent by each of the intending spouse, is contained in the UNiversal Declarion on Human Rights (UDHR )and in various international human rights on Consent to Marriage, and in regional treaties including the ICCPR, ICESCR, CEDAW and the Convention on Consent to Marriage and in regional treaties including the ECHR.

Thus for example, CEDAW has recognized that the practice of forced marriages - "marriages arranged for payment or preferment.. on the basis of custom, religious beliefs or the ethnic origins of particular groups of people"- continues to prevail in certain countries. It has emphasized the significance of the right of " A woman Ôs right to choose a spouse and enter freely into marriage is central to her life and her dignity and equality as a human beingÉ" The committee has further stated that, "Subject to reasonable restrictions, based for example on a woman Ôs youth or consanguinity with her partner, a woman Ôs right to choose when, if, and whom she will marry must be protected and enforced by law."

Reported cases indicate that many of those forced into marriage are very young, including girls under eighteen year old. In recognition of the practice of child marriages, which are forced marriages by definition, since children do not have the capacity to give consent, the CEDAW Committee also noted that ÒÉ The betrothal of girls or undertakings by family members on their behalf.. contravene not only the Convention, but also a women Ôs right freely to choose her partner.Ó Further, the practice of child marriage and early marriage has been widely seen as a form of discrimination against the girl- child by international human rights bodies, which have stated that a child marriage has no legal effect and called for a minimum age of marriage to be established by Law.

Forced marriage entails a violation of one or more of a number of internationally recognized human rights norms. Recognition of the human rights issues arising from forced marriage is critical to framing adequate responses to the problem and providing effective redress to victims.

All cases of forced marriage involve the right to marry and to personal liberty and security, including freedom from arbitrary detention. The more extreme cases may also implicate the right to life, the right to bodily integrity, including freedom from gender- based violence, the prohibitions on slavery or practices similar to slavery; the right to access to justice, the right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law; the right to an effective remedy and the right to freedom from gender- based discrimination.

Each of the rights enumerated above is recognized by the International Declaration of Human Rights. In addition Bangladesh and Pakistan are bound to respect these rights by their treaty obligations under several major international human rights instruments. They are parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against women, 1979 ( CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1990 (CRC), and the Supplementary Convention on Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery 1956.

Furthermore, General Recommendation No.21, UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women says: "A woman's right to choose a spouse and enter freely into marriage is central to her life and her dignity and equality as a human being.. A woman's right to choose when, if, and whom she will marry must be protected and enforced at law."

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