UK: Spoon in underwear saves girls from undergoing forced marriage

, Aug 18: Young

in the

have found a unique way to escape the torture of forced marriage.

According to a Derby-based campaign group Karma Nirvana, which works for victims of forced marriage, the girls have been advised to carry a spoon or any other metal object in their underwear so that they could be detected at the airport and the consequent intervention of the law officials will help them evade their imposing parents.

The charity said several schoolgirls have saved themselves from entering the life of a servitude through forced marriages abroad through such means. Forcing girls into marriages abroad during the summer holidays in the name of going home has been a major issue troubling even the government in the UK.

The spoon strategy has given the otherwise helpless girls a last opportunity to express their position before the law and get a relief, said an official of the group. The Foreign Office's Forced Marriage Unit has reported that nearly 1,500 charges of forcing girls into marriage were reported last year.

Almost half of these cases are related with Pakistan. Bangladesh, India, Somalia, Iraq and Iran are some of the other countries where these girls are sent. The oldest woman who was involved was 71-year-old while the youngest just two-years-old.

Many of them suffer major trauma after being sexually exploited after the marriages.

OneIndia News