12
October 2011
Southall Black Sisters welcomes the judgment in the Quila and
Bibi case. The Supreme Court has stated that the government's
ban on non-EU spouses under the age of 21 from entering the UK, is
an unlawful interference on a couple's right to respect for private
and family life.
SBS intervened in the case to argue that the age policy is a
disproportionate and discriminatory response to the problem of
forced marriage. We stated that it would discriminate against many
couples who have genuine marriages by keeping them apart, and more
importantly, that it will not solve the problem of forced marriage
but merely drive it underground. The Supreme Court has endorsed our
view that the Secretary of State's age policy, far from being an
effective deterrent, is an unjustifiable, unfair and
disproportionate response to the problem of forced marriage.
Our main concern is that the government is consistently linking
forced marriage to the imperatives of immigration control when
there is no evidence to show that in the vast majority of cases,
forced marriage and gaining entry to the UK are linked. The main
motivating factors behind forced marriages are complex and it
cannot be used to impose immigration controls that have unlawful,
discriminatory outcomes for many genuine cases. Forced marriage is
largely about the need to control (female) sexuality, protecting
cultural and religious norms including family honour, and
strengthening family ties.
SBS
states:
"We
believe that the issue of immigration control and forced marriage
must be de-linked. There are other, more effective ways of
addressing the problem, for example providing funding for
specialist organisations, undertaking preventative work in schools,
improving access to education and supporting those who are trying
to tackle the root causes of forced marriage from within their
communities. This judgment makes it clear that the link between
forced marriage and entry to the UK has not been clearly
established. We therefore urge the government to think again about
using the issue of forced marriage to justify its latest
unnecessary and discriminatory proposals on family-related
migration. Forced marriage is a serious issue but it should not be
used in a cynical way to create a moral panic to justify the
government's immigration agenda."
Contact 0208 571
9595 orinfo@southallblacksisters.co.uk
for more information.
