Force Marriages

Regards to listeners of the program:
Our today discussion is about forced marriages. Our guests in this program are Latifa Sultani coordinator of women right in human right commission, Maryam Zolmai prosecutor in Afghanistan Midica office and Shukria Khaliqi in charge of litigation in women office for Afghanistan women and we hope that we can answer your questions.

Question: at first I ask from Miss Latifa Sultani that what forced marriage is?
Answer: I present my regards to you and for the program quests. Before talking about forced marriages I want to say a point about marriage. Based on article No 60 of civil law, marriage is contract between man and woman for foundation of family. It means that marriage is a contract that both man and woman to be satisfied. Also some facilities have been considered for rights of mother and children in civil political convention, removal of all violence against women convention, declaration of human right and in declaration of Islamic human right.

Forced marriage is that marriage made by force and the main parts of the marriage not be considered such as satisfaction of both sides, legal age for marriage and etc.

Question: Miss Maryam Zalmai what are the main factors of forced marriage in Afghanistan?

Answer: regards for you and quests, the following issues are the main factors of the forced marriage: existence of unpleased custom, misinterpretation from Islamic religious orders, non-execution of laws no awareness of people.

Question: which one of the factors impact on forced marriage?
Answer: based on my point of view the main factors is the unpleased and disagreeable costume which it influenced to our culture. In our country family and elders make decision about marriage of their daughters without awareness of their girl and they force the girl to marry.

Question: Miss Shukria Khaliqi, man and women are involve in marriage. In your point of view which one of them (man or woman) force to accept marry?

Answer: first of all I present my regards and based in my point of view mostly women have been forced to become ready for  marriage and their factor is the unpleasend and disagreeable custom in our society as will as poverty in families. Some pour families force their daughters to marry just for financial problems. In addition non-awareness of people from women right is reason that girl accept forcing marriage. Based on Islam law men and women have equal right and no one has the right to trample on their rights.

Question: Miss Sultani, based on your point of view how the forced marriage emerge?

Answer: The forced marriage emerges in different kinds. First we remind the forcing marriage. It means families force their daughters  by hating and beating to marry based on their thoughts. The second kind is encouragement and provoking. For instance girls are being encouraged that if they marry with that individual she will become lucky. Also there is custom in some families that when men commit murder or other crimes they give girls to suffered families in order to compensate their crime and that is another type of forced marriage.

Exchange (it means that two families become agree to exchange their daughters). In this type of marriage may one side be satisfy but not the other side because they did not have nay relationship with them in the past and do not know each others well and finally they will face to many problems. If one side confront to a problem, the other side certainly are being violated.

The other kind of marriage is inherited. It means that when husband of a woman die her deceased husband relatives marry her to a close relative based on their custom.

Absent marriage is another forced marriage. It means that husband is absent and based on order and recommendation of families, girl marry to absent man. In addition some families engage their daughters and sons during their childhood that all of such marriages are forced marriages.                      

Question: you spoke about kinds of forced marriages which the worse of them is engaging girls in order to compensate a crime. If you explain about consequences and fate of the girl in the family which she marry in this kind of marriage.

Answer: this kind of marriage is the worse and disgusted marriage in our country and it is current in some part of our country. We have cases that the girls’ nose, hand and other parts of her body were cut during family violence and still she return to her husband family even there are incidents that girls were killed.

Question: Miss Maryam Zalmai what are the impact of marriage on women whose husband die and they marry to a relative of her husband?

Answer: first of all I want to tell that women are the most vulnerable people in our society that three decade war is witness of this vulnerability. Most of women lost their husbands and children during three decades war. I must to tell about widows that no one has the right to marry widows by force with another man without their satisfaction. This action is crime and those who commit such action will put to prison for short time based on article No 517 penal court. In addition, it is written in the article 26 of prohibition of violence against women that those who force widows to marry someone will put to prison for two years in jail. Based my point of view forced marriage is not right action and this action is flunked based on Islamic and human laws.

Question: Miss Shukria Khaliqi you are one of the defender of women right. What would be the consequences of the marriage that some families marry their sons and daughters during their childhood?
Answer: I worked as prosecutor in women office and I was witness of some cases in this regard which marriage during childhood resulted in escaping from home, to commit suicide and self demolition and the main factor of such marriages are unpleasend and disagreeable custom in our country that some family do such actions. These families do not thank that when their children grow up flagrant changes occur in their thoughts and manner and these changes causes that two youths will not compatible with each other and finally as I mentioned it will resulted in escaping from home, commit suicide and self demolition.

Question: Miss Sultani, based on your point of view how much the current laws enforceable?

Answer: nased on reports which we receive from field offices of human right commission, vision and idea of people about women right from legal authorities is different than five years ago. Five years ago if women refer to a government office for solving a problem they faced with money problems however currently this problem removed but not completely. Undoubtedly still there are problems in remote areas and provinces. Courts and other legal authorities observe the women problems with different viewpoints. We do not have serious problem with having laws. All our problem and challenges are from non-enforcement of laws. Now the ground is ready for enforcement of laws if government organization wants but us we see sometimes the law will not put in practice.

Question: Miss Maryam there are some factors that officials refuse to enforce law regarding women. First existence of men in all justice official organizations and their difference opinion against women, second women prefer to not go to justice organization and third exist of corruption in government organizations. What do you thank by existing of these problems how much the laws would be enforceable?

Answer: if justice entities enforce laws all the problems would be solved and I want to tell about difference opinion on women in justice entities that we should take the following measures in order to overcome in this problem: giving information for people through mass media and tell them about its bad consequences on society particularly on women who are half of our society , holding of workshops and seminars and that is very important for all people of our country.

Question: what do you assess the impact of literacy? In society that men do not want to give all rights of women for them and women also do not aware about their rights. What should be done and what is the literacy impact in this direction?

Answer: giving information through different methods will increase awareness of women and it will put positive impact on families.

Question: what do you thank about role of families for decrease or removal of unpleased custom and what should be done that women aware about their rights?

Answer: family role is very important in bringing change in life of women. Awareness programs regarding women rights and human right should be launched not only for women but for all members of family including men and women that all of them should know each others’ right. When they know each others’ right there would be mutual respect between them and all their problems would be solved.

Question: Mss. Sultani there are some people who take hold of religious issues and do valiance actions. What do you thank about it?

Answer: Imams and Ulamas (the religious authorities) are respectable people in our society but unfortunate I should tell that there are some Ulamas who don’t know from religious law and under the name of Ulama they act based on tradition culture and custom. Some Ulams say that based on Islam law, beat and hit women and keep them at home but that is not right and it say in holy Koran that men and women created for tranquility of each other.  Also it say in another part of Koran  that the best human (men and women) are those who have virtue.

Question: based on your point of view the  women who wearing of Borka (veil) they can not take breathe openly and they completely surrounded with it how they can make decision about their marriages?

Answer: the word of veil is mentioned in the holy Koran for saving of women but wearing of Borka is limitation so we should try to be savec not to be walled around. There are some people in our society who commit treason in any case. Not only women but man also should cover their nakedness.

Question: Miss Maryam, what do you assess the role of mass media regarding removal of forced marriage?

Answer: Medias are responsible to attempt to broadcast awareness programs and give information for people about forced marriage and if the media try to do the best it will put positive impact.

Question: what would be psychic impact of forced marriage on man and woman? 

Answer: the forced marriage not only belongs to women perhaps boys also can be victims of this kind of valiance sometimes. Based on unpleasant and disagreeable custom  in our society most of parents are involve in making decision about marriage of their sons and daughters and sons accept decision of their parents and they will face to problem in the future. For example a 14 year old girl was forced by her father to accept forced marriage. She said that she becomes tried from her life and she confront with many problems. She say that she doesn’t know well her husband and she does not love him therefore she can not share most of her problems with her husband. She say after she married she share all her problems with her mother but her mother told her that she entered with white cloths (bride cloths) in to her husband house and she must to return to her father house white cloths (coffin). Therefore she becomes addicted to narcotic.

Question: what impact misunderstanding between parents put on their children?

Answer: as all know children grow under care of parents and it would be primary school for them but when children observe misunderstanding and dispute between their parents doubtlessly children grow revengeful and harsh and it will put negative impact on family life and society. Vise versa if there would be good understanding and relationship between husband and wife their children will grow healthy, polite and calm. It means children are like white paper and anything you write on them I will engrave on them. Therefore if children observe violence and misunderstanding between their parents, they themselves will be incorrect and harsh in the future.

Question: you are working in human right commission what is the impact of poverty on force marriage and divorce?

Answer: economic factors have very important role on farced marriage. It means that when a girl live in pour family the purpose of the family is to marry their girl with rich nd wealthy man and family member of the girl encourage her to marry the rich man because she will become lucky in the future.

Question: what would be the result of different ages between husband and wife in their future? It means that a 16 or 20 year old girl marry with 60 year old man and what negative impact it will put in their future?     

Answer: forced marriage with different ages will put  unpleasant impact on life of girls, and girls will confront with mental problems and finally they will escape from their homes.

Question: what do you thank that forced marriage are different in cities and rural villages? Which areas are the most forced marriage occur?  

Answer: as I know and collected information about the most forced marriages occur in villages of southern, southeastern, and west provinces with some differences.

Question: at the end I want to make conclude and ask what should be done to decrease the force marriage.

Answer: based on my point of view giving Islamic information regarding forced marriage through miss media and Imams of mosque is extremely efficient in reducing and decreasing of forced marriage. Also register of couple married names in courts that both bride and groom be present and the marriage portion payable to the wife determine in court will have positive impact in reducing the forced marriage. In addition insecurity is another factor which put impact on forced marriage and by decreasing of insecurity the forced marriage also would be reduced. For example the law is not enforceable in the insecure area and people have many problems in insecure area that we are the witness of these problems.

Also launching of workshops and seminars to give information for society is solution for decreasing forced marriage. Based on my point of view it would be efficient to reduce forced marriage when we give information about harm and unpleasant result of forced marriage for people.

Also the following factors have positive impact in decreasing of force marriage: maintaining and improving of security, combat against corruption, law enforcement, giving information to society through mass medias in our country.

Thanks for all dear quests and listeners.