Forced Marriage isn't a Cultural Practice

This country is so afraid of being called 'racist' that it has gone to an extreme of ignoring serious ethnic related offences. We should realise that if someone commits a crime and is from a certain cultural or ethnic community then they should still be sent to jail if the offence is an affront to UK justice and law. We recently saw the grooming of young girls by Asian men in South Yorkshire. It took so long for them to be convicted because we thought that it would have been seen as racism. http://standpointmag.co.uk/node/3576/full

I find it horrendous how some of the Asian community allowed young girls to be deprived of their education, liberty and dignity. There are stories of teenage Asian girls in this country having children at the age of 14 as a result of forced marriage. If this was a cultural practise, is this still justifiable? Forced marriage often leads to  beating of the woman in the marriage. I have heard stories of women having their necks broken by their husbands in forced marriages.

I am half Asian and I know people in my family who have accepted arranged marriages. Arranged marriage is completely different from forced marriage. Arrange marriage requires the consent of the people who are getting married. The people who are getting married should be able to call all of the shots all of the time because it is their life that will be affected.

Forced marriage is not a cultural practise. It is the bullying and suppression of young girls by their families and husbands. Nobody should have to face this abuse. I am angry that forced marriage has been called a cultural practice.