Australia : Court stops arranged marriage of teen

[Mid]

Court stops arranged marriage of teen
15 September 2010


A court has blocked a 14-year old from leaving the country in a bid to stop an arranged marriage
(AAP)

A 14-year old Melbourne girl has been been barred from travelling overseas in a bid to avoid an arranged marriage to a man she's never met, News Ltd reports.

The case came to light when the then 13-year-old, who can not be named for legal reasons, was removed from school ahead of her wedding.

She told child protection officers she had not met the 17-year old boy, and that she had only ever seen a photograph of him.

Child protection officers became convinced after interviewing the girl that she did not understand the sexual or emotional implications of being married.

The teenager told the officers she was not forced into the engagement, and that if she changed her mind after meeting her fiance, she would not have to go through with the marriage.

She said she had not discussed her concern with either of her parents.

"It is my belief that it would not be in [the child's] best interests to travel . . . to be married as she is a child and she does not appear to understand the consequences of marriage," one of the child officer protection officers said in a court affidavit.

"Furthermore she would be deprived of a school education and she may be at risk of sexual exploitation and emotional harm."

The Family Court ruling prohibited the girl from leaving Australia until she turned 18, at which time the court would have no jurisdiction over the girl.

She was made to surrender her passport and was placed on an Australian Federal Police watch list.

The girl and her family are thought to be Macedonian Muslims.

sbs.com.au

[Aussie Tigger]

Wasn't hard to guess what religion this family was. Nice to hear of intervention such as this for a change.

[keda]

It's a cultural thing and nothing specific to any religion, apparently, or so I was reminded by PolPot recently.

In the light of this revelation it seems one should not assume the young girl is a Muslim before reading it, that's bigoted. Just as not all Muslims are terrorists and non-Muslims may be terrorists, it is not only Muslims that arrange for 13/14 year old girls to marry people they have never met, or beat up or disfigure wives and jilting lovers with acid, hot oil, etc.

Just keep it clean, please. /sarc off

Btw welcome to TD.