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Expatriate Women: Escapegoats of Ghetto Psyche

by Audity Falguni and Begum Shahria
RECENTLY, the British Foreign office has under gone a succession of cases in which the British-born women of dual nationality have been abducted to their native lands by their own parents and coerced into marriage. Fateh Osmani, a journalist from Sylhet, informed us about a good number of British-Bangladeshi girls so abducted (Independent. 1st Jan. 1997) and given to marriage. Osmani, in his report tells us the story of one Parveen, who at her four, went to London from Baurkapon village in Sylhet to live with her parents. Since then, as she has grown up as a British citizen, she has made many British friends and adapted their culture. Her parents, being worried at her changes. Drought her to Bangladesh, with a secret plan of marrying her off with a Bangladeshi man. In Bangladesh, they confiscated her British Passport and coerced her to marriage with one of her cousins, a teacher at a local madrasa. Finding it as really difficult to live with her husband, Parveen complained to the Deputy Inspector General of Police urging him to recover her passport from her parents and to save her from the wedlock. Finally, police helped her to recover the passport and she left for London.
Parveen is not alone. Beauty, daughter of Tachaddar Ali of Keshabpur village. Rushna Begum, daughter of Abdus Sattar of Jalalabad area. Rupa Chowdhury, daughter of Pijush Chowdhury in Chatak thana. Sheuli Begum of Jagannathpur thana etc are a few names of many unfortunate victims.
Not only Bangladeshi girls, such sort of "common fate," i.e, abduction by parents and forcible marriage is equally shared by girls from other immigrant nations in UK. Such a girl might be Ishya Mahamrned. a 15 years old Cardiff schoolgirl. who was taken to Yemen on an ostensibly holiday, or she might be that poor Pakistani creature, that 13 year old Nazia. who was forced to marry a man of 40. Remember the' bloodchilling report on Shazia. that Pakistani maiden of Sheffield, by Carol Sarler. which was broad-casted all over the world through BBC. Shazia Shaffie, one among countless children caught in cross-cultural conflict — Shazia, who, only at her 9 or 10, was usually called as "adopted white bastard” in her family owing to her mere fascinations for chips, western clothes and ice-skating. At her 13. her family send her back to rural Pakistan, where she turned into a slave labourer...!
Now. the entire discussion resjs on the question: why such incidents are happening? To answer this question, one thing must be noted that is, only the girls and not the boys are being subjected to such "family violence." Mainly it has two causes:
First, after the 2nd World War, once imperialist Great Britain, for whatever might be the reason, adopted a liberal immigration policy. During this period, people from different countries of Third World started migrating towards Great Britain, amidst whom the then East Pakistani citizens, particularly from Sylhet region, occupied a remarkable percentage Gradually, these migrants established their permanent residence, business etc. and got British citizenship. Even
among the Bangladeshis, there are many who had been British citizens tor 2nd, 3rd or 4th generation. But, the paradox lies in the fact that these migrants, despite enjoying all the rights and privileges of the British citizenship. they strictly maintain their traditional values and customs in family lives. And what is most common all over the world, in cases of minority communities, that they strict to their old values, due to their identity crisis. And. it is the women who have to sacrifice most of their lives and freedom for the sake of so-called "family honour." Ecofeminist philosophers Vandana Shira & Maria Mies have shown in one of their studies, that how the access of Muslim women to various spheres of public life, including movies, theatre or music, has greatly been reduced in post-Independence period in India, due to 'over-protective' attitude of their males. The story is exactly the same in case of Hindu women in Bangladesh.
According to Engles, " over centuries women have been seen as the symbol of sacred property and land in patriarchal social systems. Men try to dominate women's free movement and sexual choice, and thus, they think that they have served the honour of their community." — This very attitude, as prevalent in every social system since the primitive age, is responsible for the abduction and consequent coercive marriages of women of dual nationality.
Recently, our High Court Division has decided two cases (writ petition no 2490 of 1996 and writ petition no. 1548 .of 1995) concerning the above stated problem.
In the first case (Anny Hall V. Anwar Ali & others), Anny Hall, a representative of a British Womens' Aid Organisation. filed a writ petition in the High Court Division under Art. 102 of the Constitution. According to the petitioner's statement, the detenu Nipa Sultana is a 19 year old dual Bangladeshi and a British national of Aberystwyth. Wriles. UK. She was born in Bangladesh but since her birth she has been residing in UK with her parents. Her father Anwar Ali is the owner of a restaurant in Aberystwyth, Wales. She is also a student of Business Studies in a school of Abeiystwith on May, 1994 she met a boy Erich Williams, a student of Economics in the Wales University. They continued their friendship for two years and completed their engagement in January. 1996. Knowing it. her parents became aggressive at her and kept her in confinement. However, at that time she was rescued by the local, social service and police. Later on. Nipa’s father, with her brother and uncle, attacked Erich's apartment. They dragged her out of the apartment and also hit Erich on his elbow.
At this time. Nipa's parents confiscated her driving license. Eassport and bank card, closed er. Bank accouht and sent her to her grandmother's house Her parents started continuous Ssical violence on her fi-y. she flew from her house and took shelter in a Women's Aid Organisation, of which the petitioner is a trustee. She lived there for few months. Later she returned back Aberystwyth and re-eslablished the relationship with her parents. Her parents.
then, requested her to go to Birmingham with them on a visit to their relatives. Nipa agreed but before going to Birmingham, she informed her friends that she would return by 18/4/96. Failing the date. Ericn got anxious and informed the police about probable abduction of Nipa. After making inquiry. UK police informed that 'she has boarded a KLM flight for Bangladesh on 17/4/96 with her parents. However, on 4/9/96, Erich got a short note from Nipa, saying, her parents are trying their best to arrange marriage for her. That they have snatched her return-ticket and they physically assault her almost everyday. It is in these circumstances, that the petitioner has been bound to file the writ petition, on request of Erich.
But. Nipa's parents, i.e, the respondents denied all the allegations. saying that after they had come Bangladesh, a lot of marriage proposals for Nipa were offered to them. Among those proposals, her parents liked one Bachu and they told Nipa about their choice. But, hearing this, as she got very depressed and excited, they gave up the idea to give her in marriage. In the meantime Nipa posted the letter with the 'false story" to her boyfriend.
Before the Notary Public. Nipa supported her parents' statement saying that she really wrote "false story" to get immediate help from her boyfriend as she was afraid that her parents would give her in marriage to a strange man in a unknowns strange country.
The learned JJ Mainur Reza Chowdhury and Md Iftikhar Rasul, finally, laid down that although Nipa had made 'false story.’ she did all these things only from the fear of coercive marriage. That every person is entitled, as per constitution guarantees, to the right of inviolability. -- the inviolability of individual against any sort of detention, physical or mental torture. Henceforth. Nipa is entitled to go Britain either alone or with the Petitioner or even with her parents, whatever she likes.
Now. the second case (writ petition no. 1584 of 1995). The petitioner Cathy Sufia is a British Citizen. Her mother is British and father is Bangladeshi. By faith, she is a Christian. She is 28 years old. On 12 July. 1984. she married a Bangladeshi citizen in England in a civil ceremony and she got four beautiful children from the marriage.
On 12 November, 1993, she came to Bangladesh with her husband and children for a holiday. After coming to Dhaka, her husband took all the passports of Cathy and her four children. Everytime she asked to return to England, her husband became violent and aggressive.
On 9 May. 1995, her husband. Zamirullah forcibly took away the children and issued a Muslim Notice of Divorce on her. On the day of Eid. she was forced out of her then husband’s residence in Dhaka. Being penniless and very ill, she went to her father's home.
Nbt knowing what to do, Cathy approached the British Embassy in Dhaka and told them that, she wished to recover her children. They gave her the name and telephone number of a lawyer. Cathy contacted the lawyer who took up her case and the lawyer advised her to return to England and obtain
orders for custody of her children (Shah Yusuf-12 years, Daisey-9 years, Sharlean-6 years and Alam-4 years).
After obtaining the orders, she served them upon her formet husband who ignored of them. It is to be noted here, that, the meantime. Cathy's husband has gone to England and sold all the properties, which were in the joint names of both Cathy and Zamirullah.
However Zamirullah did not comply with the orders of British court, rather filed a plaint in Family Sult No. 145/95, in 30 July, 1995. On the same day Cathy filed her writ petitions in the High Court Division of Dhaka. Although, Cathy and her lawyer succeeded in having the children brought from Noakhali to Dhaka, but tljat was when her nightmare began.
Day after day Cathy went to Court and saw her children from a distance as she was not permitted to go near her children. After a Tong struggle she was allowed to see her children for a few minutes in the opposite parties' Chamber along with the children's father, his advocates and a gang of men. Her next access was for two hours a week in her lawyer's chamber with her ex-husband and his advocate present.
Four weeks later, on 30.8.95 the High Court passed the order giving Cathy the custody of her three younger children, but not her eldest child according to the Hanafi Muslim Law of guardianship. But. Zamirullah then went to the Supreme Court and had the High Court’s Order stayed. So she was left with a few pages of paper and no children again.
Going into the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. Cathy found that religion has pushed itself into this matter. As Cathy is not of the Muslim faith, she is deemed to be an unfit person to look after her Muslim children. No matter that she gave birth to them.
However, finally, on 30 March, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh passed an order giving Cathy the custody of her three young children, but not the eldest child, exactly the same judgement as laid down by the High Court.
With due regard to the Supreme Court, we want to ask one or two further questions: for why Cathy has been deprived of her right to get her eldest child? No doubt, Zamirullah abducted his wife and children to Bangladesh in a deceitful manner, divorced Cathy unjustifiably and misappropriated their joint property.
Zamirullah. here, is also a person susceptible to minority ghetto sentiment. Possibly he feared of his identity absorption by majority British-Christian culture, which led him in committing such cruel behaviour. And. it is the women. Nipa or Cathy, — who have to pay the toll. Pay the toll of minority psyche. It is that minority psyche which led the few merchant Shylock to hate Christians with such ferocity, as his own daughter married a Christian. It is the same minority psyche which drives Nipa’s father to abduct her own daughter. But everywhere the escapegoat of the getto sentiment is: women and women
The writers are the postgraduate students of Law, University of Dhaka.