Why we must end forced marriage

Damian Green, the Tory Immigration spokesman, sets out how the Tories plan to end forced marriages in an op-ed in The Observer today. There are some good suggestions in it, including the idea that anyone who is going to marry abroad should have to name the person they are going to wed before leaving the country. This would stop young girls from only being told that they are to be married once they have left the country. Personally, I’d also like to see the legal age for UK citizens marrying abroad raised to, say, twenty-one.

Ending forced marriage is crucial to demonstrating that all UK citizens—regardless of gender, race or creed—have equal rights. It is hard to think of a more fundamental denial of an individual’s liberty than forcing them to marry someone against their will.