Analysis: ‘A shameful practice has jogged a chilling high school memory’
It is time to have a difficult conversation about forced marriages in Sydney, because the reality is that many remain trapped, with their freedoms stolen and voices silent, writes Suzan Giuliani.
When The Sunday Telegraph received a tip-off forced marriages were secretly taking place in Sydney, it triggered a chilling memory.
Earlier this year, a trusted source revealed underage girls were being coerced into marrying older men and these marriages were also happening right here in the Harbour City.
The pit of my stomach dropped and memories from high school came rushing back.
I remember girls, some as young as 13, going on what were described as “family holidays”, only to never return.
It was only later that I discovered the truth – some had been forced to marry older men, including cousins or other men that their families had arranged for them. So when I learned it was happening in NSW across Australia – I knew I had to investigate this issue and shine a light on this form of modern-day slavery.
I spoke to multiple frontline workers, multicultural community leaders and authorities about forced marriages.
Several of them said the same thing.
“This is happening but no one wants to talk about it out of fear”.
But we needed more. We needed a voice to highlight the truth and bring this shameful secret to the surface.
That’s when I began searching for victims of this unspeakable crime.
After weeks of phone calls and in-person meetings, two trusted contacts pointed me in the direction of Samira*.
Eventually I was able to reach out to this incredible woman, and ask if she would be willing to tell her story.
Samira immediately agreed, saying she was “motivated” to raise awareness and help others. Samira endured almost 20 years of trauma after being forced to marry her first cousin in Afghanistan.
She is one of the fortunate few who managed to break free – and she is determined to tell her story.
Other women, however, aren’t as lucky. Many remain trapped, with their freedoms stolen and voices silent.
This is why we need to have difficult conversations about forced marriages and how we can better protect women from this nightmare.
There are plenty of us who believe this sort of thing doesn’t happen in Australia, and we need to wake up.
*Names have been changed.
For support contact:
Life Without Barriers: 1800 403 213; mybluesky.org.au
Originally published as Analysis: ‘A shameful practice has jogged a chilling high school memory’
