Long walk to freedom for foreign-born brides

Rafiya (not her real name), 19, saves a few rupees from the housekeeping money allotted to her each day by her husband, and squirrels it away under the old newspaper lining her dressing table drawer.

When she last counted the amount it totalled nearly Rs50,000 that she had saved up within the last two years. Rafiya believes that in another few months, she will have enough to make a bid to escape 'home', along with her 17-month old son.

Three years ago, Rafiya was brought to Lahore from the UK, where she had been born and educated, to see her ailing grandmother. When she arrived the real reasons for the visit were quite different. Within weeks, Rafiya was forcibly married to a cousin 10 years older then her. She was kept locked in a room for several months to avoid her seeking help. She is now allowed more freedom, and has convinced her in-laws that she is now 'settled down' and 'happy'. Secretly, she is planning a return to Leeds, and life in a country where she says she can be 'herself'.

Rafiya is one of over 200 British-Pakistani girls forcibly married in Pakistan each year. Figures from 2002 suggest the trend is rising, and stories of girls being tricked into such marriages without their consent come in almost daily from cities and villages across the country. While the best documented cases involve girls from the UK or other European countries, it is believed that women from the U.S. and Canada are also being subjected to the same fate.

The reasons of course are simple. While Pakistanis are in many cases desperate to settle abroad, once based overseas they are equally anxious to preserve their own culture and heritage. Marrying off daughters to relatives in Pakistan is, in their eyes, one way to achieve this, and prevent the girl from marrying outside the family – or worse still, outside her religion.

For the girls, many of whom have never been before to Pakistan, marriage to an older relative can mean a complete change in the lives they have known. Even when families are kind, the loss of freedom, of friends of the right to exercise a choice even in matters such as selecting clothes, can be devastating.

In 2002, at least eight girls wed in this fashion were able to return to Europe, either by approaching courts or fleeing their husband's home. In some cases, the missions of their countries have assisted them to a huge extent. But such desperate action does not of course solve the problem itself, which seems to be growing by the year. In the Gujrat area, from where quite literally thousands have re-settled in the US, 'gangs' have reportedly crept up whose task it is to "bring Pakistani girls" home. Hired by families, these men fly out to the UK and 'kidnap' a girl, with her parents 'consent'. Threats, and sometimes drugs, are used to keep the girl docile as she passes through the airport. In some cases, a 'burqa' is thrown over her to prevent any 'signal of distress' being made.

With more and more Pakistanis immigrating each year, the issue seems set to grow. Rights groups within the country and outside have launched campaigns against the forced marriage of Asian girls, but have had little impact.