Sakina (fictitious name) was born in Bangladesh yet raised in Montreal. At 16, she returned to her homeland with her parents under the pretext of visiting her sick grandmother. The young woman was then forced to marry a man twice her age - despite her resistance.
The girl later wrote to her mother that she was kept in a locked room, where she was beaten and raped. After two months, her mother granted her return to Montreal. By 19, Sakina was forced to marry again. According Madeline Lamboley, a PhD student from the Universit- de Montr-al School of Criminology, this true story mirrors the fate an unconfirmed number of female immigrants in Quebec, France and the U.K.
Lamboley stresses, however, the difference between arranged marriages and forced marriages. "In an arranged marriage, parents present different candidates to the young woman who must then chose," says Lamboley. "In a forced marriage, there is no negotiation. The husband is imposed and she has no choice. If she refuses, she could be disowned by her family and shun from her community."
The practice of forced marriages is common in many countries, says Lamboley, including Bangladesh and India. It's also widespread in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, in North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. According to Lamboley, the practice even exists in Italy, Portugal and among French aristocrats.