Yesterday the BBC broke a story about thirty three girls who have apparently disappeared from schools in Bradford authorities suspect that the girls have been taken abroad to be forcefully married.

What makes this and stories of forced marriages and honor violence shocking is that it is not the traditional mindset of first generation immigrants, but one that has infiltrated into second generation British Asian and Muslim as well. Crimes against those who refuse to marry out of force. Estimates by Reunite are that around 1,000 women are subjected to forced marriages annually in the UK (this excludes the large proportion of men helped by the Foreign Office’s Forced Marriages Unit.)

In my quest for more knowledge, I decided to speak to Nazir Afzal, Director of West London Crown Prosecution Service about the issue. Nazir’s work in this area began in 2004; his aim was not merely to raise awareness about this issue, but also to develop strategies to deal with such crimes. Being tactically placed, with access to senior police officials and Ministers, Nazir has not only been in a position to prevent these crimes from taking place, but also to help prosecute perpetrators guilty of such acts of violence.

Without wanting to justify the motives or actions of those responsible, Nazir claims that the perpetrators are often victims of society themselves who succumb to social, cultural and family pressure. He disagrees that the problem is linked to strict religious ideologies within the Muslim community, “this behavior by no means makes this a religiously induced problem, the causes range from ignorance to a lack of information” he assures me, “mosques are now beginning to talk about it, but even they feel threatened by the community.”

But does the problem have its roots in doctrine that promotes forced marriages and justifies violence for the sake of honor? There are approximately 1.5 million Muslims in the UK today, around 74% of whom are of Asian origin - predominantly Pakistani at 43% - of this community, around 50% are from Azad Kashmir (Mirpur and Kotli) – these are groups who have undergone chain-migration, and emulate a particular lifestyle from the Indian Subcontinent.

Second, there is the issue of low attainment and high unemployment which both contribute to overall social well-being. The Muslim community has a working age population of around 60%, the unemployment rate is almost 18% (the current UK unemployment rate being 4.3%). Together, the Pakistani and Bangladeshi community also has a combined working population of around 60% - the unemployment rate is around 17% amongst Pakistanis and approximately 20% amongst Bangladeshis.

Educationally, around 33% Muslims have no qualifications. Out of this group, Pakistani and Bangladeshi boys have the lowest rate of basic qualifications (NVQ Level 2 or GCSEs). The percentage of those with no qualifications in the UK is around 15%.

To add to this, Asian and Muslim communities tend to group together and often reside in shared accommodation – this continues after marriage to maintain the traditional “joint family system”, though around 32% of Muslim households experience overcrowding, with Hindu and Sikh households experiencing around 22% and 19% respectively.*

These are all are interlinked factors and contribute towards general social status, acceptance and awareness. In terms of marriage, Asian communities group together to maintain social and religious cohesion and a sense of identity - which can lead to a notion of preserving one’s “natural identity”. Women are mainly seen as the “honor” of the family and are encouraged to nurture a sense of cultural identity - and so if they decide to lead a life independent of cultural limitations, particularly with regard to marriage, they are often ostracised.

These are all factors which undoubtedly add to slow-progression and persisting ago-old feudal mentality amongst some within these communities. Until these social causal factors are addressed, little can be done to change the perceptions amongst young Asians - but we must acknowledge that this problem is not one that is linked to religious ideology with its roots in Islam or any other established religion.

Later this year, the government will bring into force the Forced Marriages Act 2007 - a rather ‘delicate’ piece of legislation which aims to protect “individuals against being forced to enter into marriage without their free and full consent” - the Act does not limit itself to force through means of violence, but also methods which include psychological pressure - a problem faced by a large proportion of young British Asian adults, the majority of whom are bound by perpetual indebtedness and ‘honour’ in the UK today.

Although welcomed by many enforcement bodies and community leaders, the Act is essentially looking to reduce the number of immigrant-marriages by force, a strategy which seems more in line with current immigration limitation plans, than to reduce forced marriages. It will not abolish the long-standing tradition of emotional pressure, nor will it, in my opinion, prohibit or deter crimes committed in the name of honour.

*Data has been sourced from National Statistics Online.