Immigrant Dad In Australia Is Banned From Forcing 14-Year-Old Daughter Into Marrying

I realize that arranged marriages are a cultural tradition for some, and that for the most part many marriages have been happily arranged, with the consent of both parties. But arranged marriages for adults is totally different than arranging a marriage for underage girls, which happens all too often in many countries including in the West. I'm not condemning the practice for adults, just for young girls who have no clue what marriage entails.

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Take a 14-year-old Australian girl whose father had arranged for her to be married to a 17-year-old boy and was about to ship her overseas when child protection services stepped in and prevented it from happening. Officers with child protection were informed when the young girl was removed from school in preparation for the marriage.

Thankfully, Family Court has set into motion some actions that will prevent the young girl from being taken abroad. She no longer has her passport and will not be able to renew or travel overseas until she is 18 and her name has now been placed on travel Watch Lists across the nation.

The family is thought to be immigrants from Macedonia (in the Balkans), and more than likely Muslims.

Not many details were released about the case because of privacy issues.

But the case of forced marriages is a problem for Australia, it seems, but not necessarily condoned by the Islamic community there.

In 2005, the Australian embassy in Lebanon handled about 12 forced marriage cases, some involving girls as young as 14, amid claims they were raped and kidnapped.

Keysar Trad, of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, said the Family Court's latest decision reflected general Islamic beliefs.

"You would be hard pressed to find anybody in the Muslim community in Australia who would condone that," he said.

Child services did interview the girl without the parents present, which hopefully allowed the girl to be more forthcoming about the whole arranged marriage issue, but one has to wonder if she was being totally honest. Children are often very protective of their parents. What we do know is that she wasn't fully aware of the implications of marriage.

The only evidence presented to the court was an affidavit from one of the officers. He said the girl told them she had been engaged for a month to a 17-year-old boy from another country, but didn't know what she felt about marrying him because she had never met him.

The girl said she had not been forced into the engagement and would not have to marry him if she changed her mind after meeting him.

The officer said he formed the opinion that the girl had not considered the prospect of having sex with her new husband or the possibility of being abused.

He said the girl indicated she had not discussed her feelings with her parents and did not know her mother's opinion of the marriage.

"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," the officer's affidavit said.

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

The girl's father did not attend any of the Family Court hearings, initiated by DHS.

The mother appeared on her own behalf and did not dispute any evidence or oppose the orders to keep her daughter in Australia.

The judge said the mother was "quite relieved" at the order preventing her daughter leaving.

"There is no evidence to indicate the child's father's attitude towards this matter and accordingly, I do not assume that he agrees with the mother," the judge said.

As is often the case, it's the father who is the one pushing for these kinds of marriages, and the mother who is forced to go along with it, whether she agrees or not. But, it could all change when the girl turns 16, when either she or her parents can file a claim to overturn the ruling.

Let's hope neither does, so she can finish her schooling and be mature enough to make the decision on her own.