NGO side event: Marriage without Consent

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[12 March 2008] -  During an NGO side event on the spectre of forced marriage, Prof. Yakin Ertuk, Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, said she was “wary of cultural discussions.”

“We are culture. Culture is ours. We shouldn't be so ready to attribute everything we are critical of to the sphere of culture, and we should not allow the holders of power to represent culture in oppressive ways” she said.

By uncritically accepting cultural arguments, we do not look at the issues behind it, she continued.

“Cultural diversity is our strength, not our weakness,” she added. Her 2007 report dealt with the issue of culture and violence against women.

Boys also vulnerable

Prof. Ertuk, speaking at the event Women and Girls Human Rights: Marriage without Consent,  also warned against neglecting the experiences of boys.

“Forced marriage does not necessarily mean a forced marriage of the woman – it is also an imposition on the men. You have a hostile and unhappy man too. His target is then often his bride. Violence becomes a component of this,” she said.

Concluding, Prof. Ertuk emphasised the transnational dimension of forced marriages, noting that it was often used for migration purposes.

Marriage boycott

Krishna Ahoojapatel, President of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, said a simple form of protest could be to turn down wedding invites where the bride is under 18.

Further information

 

 

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