The Silence Around Forced Marriage

Forced marriage is often hidden behind culture, tradition and family honour. It’s rarely discussed openly. It’s rarely acknowledged. It’s rarely understood. It is often assumed to only happen in certain cultures but it doesn’t – it can happen anywhere.

Silence keeps it alive.

People automatically assume an “arranged marriage” by default is a “forced marriage”.  It is not, they are 2 completely different things. One is consensual, the other is, forced. Forced at least on one party, usually the female. When we don’t talk about forced marriage, we allow it to continue. When we treat it as a “private family matter,” we ignore the girls who are suffering. When we assume it only happens “elsewhere,” we fail to see the reality happening in our own communities.

My memoir breaks that silence.

This journal continues breaking it.

And every story told is one step closer to change.

Don’t be silent. Start the conversation. And listen when you don’t know how to respond. Just listen.