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Summary: A 16-YEAR-old girl has won the right to be placed on the airport watch list to stop her parents taking her to Lebanon for an arranged marriage.
[29 September 2011] - Federal magistrate Joe Harman said he was satisfied there was a psychological risk to the girl unless the court intervened to stop her being married to a man she met just once. The Sydney teenager, who cannot be identified, took court action against her parents in secret. The court said such applications were becoming increasingly common. Last year, another Sydney family was banned from taking their daughter, 17, to Lebanon for an arranged marriage after she called Australian Federal Police from home while her mother was out, saying she had been booked to fly out of Australia against her will. And last September the Family Court banned a 14-year-old would-be bride from leaving Australia. In the latest case, Mr Harman said that while it might be suggested the young woman had bucked the authority of her parents, she had displayed great bravery in seeking legal help. "The young person's evidence makes very clear that she has expressed to her parents that she does not want to go to Lebanon and does not want to marry the person proposed," he said. "She has indicated also in her evidence that she is fearful for her personal safety, that she has concerns as to what will occur in relation to her mother's reaction once she becomes aware of these proceedings. "It is not the right of any parent to cause their child to be married against their will, whether in accordance with Australian law or otherwise." He restrained the girl's parents from removing her from Australia and from assaulting, molesting, harassing, threatening or intimidating her, or questioning her about the court proceedings. He also ordered that they surrender her passport to the court. He also ordered the girl placed on the airport watch list - and that the Australian Federal Police maintain an airport watch for her. The orders were made just two weeks before the planned wedding in the middle east in April. Details of the case were revealed in a judgment published only this week. The girl told the court that her father was aware of the proposed marriage but was generally opposed to it. Mr Harman said that if she were taken to Lebanon, she would return married. If the wedding were to take place in Australia, a court order and parental consent would be required because of the girl's age. Mr Harman said international law made it clear that marriage was not to be entered into without the consent of both parties. Â Further Information:Â