ISLAMABAD, March 31: British High Commissioner Mark Lyall Grant on Thursday said awareness campaigns against forced marriages had started paying the dividends, as an increasing number of forced marriage cases were coming to light for solution. “British-born boys and girls, who have been victims of forced marriages, have come to us in increasing numbers and the magnanimity of the problem has been realised. “The debate on the subject has been truly launched and is being discussed not only between the governments of Pakistan and the UK but also within the households in both the countries,” he said while speaking as chief guest at an international symposium on the issue of forced marriages in Pakistan.

The event was organized by a local NGO, Sach, in collaboration with the British High Commission. The objective of the symposium was to highlight the overall activities under the project titled “Opening up a Public Debate on the Issue of Forced Marriages in Pakistan” which was inaugurated by the British High Commissioner last year.

The symposium was also aimed at creating a wider range of partners to support the victims of forced marriages and to develop strategies to deal with the issue.

The high commissioner said the government of Pakistan had been extremely helpful in this regard and specially the people, who had understood the problem and were driving the project towards success by discouraging the practice of forced marriages.

“We are not invading cultures and traditions but are trying to educate people by opening up a debate that forced marriage practice is abuse of fundamental human rights, is illegal and anti-Islamic,” he said.

Head of Consular Section, British High Commission, Helen M Feather said: “The problem of forced marriages is not diminishing. The Consular Section has received 24 cases where the British-born Pakistanis called for help because they were being forced to marry against their will. “The visa section has received 55 cases where they were already married. Victims are between 18 and 24 years old. One or more cases received are below the age of 18 and one case of a 42 years old.”

She said force marriages were beginning of a cycle of domestic violence. “It results in dreadful domestic violence, increase in number of divorces, murders and social unrest. The incidence of child abduction has also become a matter of great concern resulting from break-down of forced marriages.

“The British government is considering declaring the practice of forced marriage a criminal activity.”

The debate, she said, was going towards education of the young British-born Pakistanis about their rights that there was help on their doorstep. She said the practice was common in NWFP, Punjab and AJK.

Albert David, Consular Officer, informed the participants that they faced many problems when addressing the issue. “There was a lukewarm support from the government of Pakistan in the beginning but now they differentiate arranged marriages from forced marriages and see it as an illegal activity.