Forced Marriage: Difference between revisions

'''Forced marriage''' is the compelled marriage of an individual (usually female) against their will. The individual is usually forced by family members and in countries with primitive women's rights. Forcing a female who had reached the age of puberty into a marriage contract with someone against her explicit wishes was forbidden by most schools of Islamic jurisprudence. However, there was a legal consensus that virgin minors could be entered into marriage contracts by their fathers by compulsion, despite hadith evidence which seems to mandate a female virgin's consent (or at least a lack of protest). Reports of Muhammad's marriage to Aisha and of his companions marrying off their minor daughters played a role in some jurist opinions.

Most (but not all) modern Muslim majority countries have made child marriage and forced marriage illegal. Nevertheless, such marriages still occur to a significant extent despite legal protections (and also occur in some non-Muslim communities). Many Muslim charities and campaign groups are working to prevent contemporary cases of forced marriage and to help those who seek their help.<ref>For example [https://www.mwnuk.co.uk/Forced_Marriage_7_factsheets.php Muslim Women's Network UK] and [https://preventforcedmarriage.org/forced-marriage-overseas-pakistan/ Tahirih Justice Center Forced Marriage Initiative]</ref> There are also government agencies who can and should be contacted when someone is at risk of forced marriage. Some charities advise those who realise too late that they are being taken overseas for a forced marriage to hide a spoon underneath their clothing so that when passing through the airport metal detector there will be an opportunity to explain the situation privately to the security team. Contacting the relevant national embassy is usually advised if already abroad.

As detailed below, Muhammad's marriage to six-year-old Aisha was cited in jurisprudence ruling that a child can be betrothed by her father without her explicit consent.<ref>{{Bukhari|7|62|18}}</ref><ref>{{Muwatta|28|2|7}}</ref> Consummation of the marriage takes place when the father and husband believe she is ready for it. The tradition that Muhammad consummated his marriage to Aisha when she was nine<ref>{{Bukhari|7|62|64}}</ref> also featured in the opinion of some jurists. A number of Quranic verses played a prominent role both in Quranic exegesis and legal discussions about marriage with pre-pubescent girls, most noteably {{Quran|65|4}}, though also {{Quran|4|3}}, {{Quran|4|6}} and {{Quran|24|32}}.   

A father or guardian must ask the consent of his virgin daughter before offering her in marriage according to a well known sahih hadith. However, according to that same hadith, if she remains silent when asked, offering no explicit acceptance, this counts as consent to the marriage.<ref>{{Bukhari|7|62|68}}</ref> As detailed below, if a girl was both a virgin and a minor, Islamic jurists nevertheless were agreed that a father could compel her marriage contract without her consent.

{{Quote|{{Muslim|8|3307}}|Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with them) reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:

{{Quote|{{Abu Dawud|11|2091}}|Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas:

===Option of puberty to annul the marriage===

In all schools of classical Islamic law, a father was allowed to enter his pre-pubescent virgin child into a marriage contract without consent. When the child reached the age of puberty he or she could exercise the "option of puberty" (khiyar al-bulugh) to repudiate the marriage, but only if it was entered into negligently, fraudulently or by someone other than the father or grandfather. The option was also lost to a virgin female who has reached puberty and who had taken no action or remained silent for what is considered a reasonable time after being informed of the contract. A male child retained his option in the same circumstances until he actively approved of the marriage <ref>Esposito, John L. (2001) "Women in Muslim Family Law (2nd Edition)", New York: Syracuse University Press, pp.16-17</ref><ref>Ali, S. M. (2004) "The Position of Women in Islam: A Progressive View", New York: State University of New York Press, pp.40-41</ref>

The problem of marital rape is particularly likely to occur in cases of forced marriage. A sahih hadith obliges a woman to have sex with her husband whenever he asks for it, as does Islamic law unless she is menstruating, fasting or severely ill.<ref>{{Muslim|8|3368}}</ref><ref>Mishkat al-Masabih Book I, Section 'Duties of husband and wife', Hadith No. 61</ref><ref>Al Tirmidhi Hadith No. 1160 & Ibn Ma’jah Hadith No. 4165</ref>  In Iran, for example, ''tamkin'' is the word used to describe a woman's obligation to be sexually available at her husband's whim.<ref>Ilkkaracan, Pinar. (2008). [http://books.google.com/books?id=pnGwP9-FhxYC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s#v=onepage&q=&f=false ''Deconstructing Sexuality in the Middle East'']. (p. 129). Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company.</ref>  There is no law in Islam that protects a woman from rape by her husband.  In fact, a wife is a man's tilth, and he is permitted to approach her however and whenever he feels like it.<ref>{{Quran|2|223}}</ref> If she feels that she is being mistreated, she must seek a divorce from an Islamic court and prove the mistreatment.  If her husband divorces her, but changes his mind before the mandatory 'idda is over, he may take his wife back whether she desires to remain married to him or not.<ref>{{Quran|2|228}}</ref><ref>[http://www.islamqa.com/en/ref/75027/permission%20second%20wife The wife’s consent is not a condition of taking her back after divorce] - Islam Q&A, Fatwa No. 75027</ref>

In recent decades there has more or less been a consensus of scholars that slavery is no longer permitted. Historically however, and still in a few places today, slavery persisted for many centuries. Slaves lose control of their lives to those known as ''owners''. Although Islam promotes the freeing of slaves by promising divine rewards in the afterlife, it also institutionalizes the practice by sanctioning the capture and enslavement of enemy ([[Non-Muslims|kuffar]]) noncombatants as well as promoting an [[w:Indulgence|indulgence]]-style requirement of manumitting a slave for the compensation of sins committed.<ref>{{Quran|4|92}}</ref> The buying and selling of human beings like livestock is permitted in Islam, and there is no limit to the number of slaves a Muslim can own so long as he (or she) can afford to feed, clothe, and shelter them. Slaves have no right over their own persons. A slave may not get married without his or her master's permission, and a slave can redeem his or herself only if the master allows it.

Mariyah was a Coptic concubine sent as a gift from Egypt to Muhammad. She gave birth to Muhammad's son Ibrahim, but he died by the time he was two. They were never married, but he had sex with her because she was his property.

{{Quote|{{Muslim|8|3303}}| Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as having said:

{{Quote|{{Muslim|8|3305}}| 'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported: