George Galloway’s comments on forced marriage are a dangerous abuse of power

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/13/george-galloway-forced-marriage-naz-shah

Version 0 of 1.

It is 10 years now since I left my forced marriage but it took me a very long time to accept that I had been a victim and that those who had harmed me were my family – the people who should have loved and protected me the most. Admitting that you have been a victim is painful, because no one wants to be seen as weak; no one chooses to be a victim.

Now George Galloway has played politics with the experience of survivors of forced marriage. At a public hustings event in his Bradford West constituency, he questioned whether Naz Shah, the Labour candidate, is a survivor of a forced marriage. Shah has spoken openly about her experiences, which included being emotionally blackmailed by her mother and the abusive nature of the marriage.

As the hustings event became increasingly ill-tempered, Galloway challenged her. Having obtained a copy of the nikah, or Islamic marriage certificate, from Pakistan, Galloway claimed that Shah had not been 15 at the time, as she claimed, but was in fact 16, and that because Shah’s mother was present the marriage cannot have been forced. Labour says that it has a copy of her original certificate that proves she was a minor and have accused Galloway of breaking election rules.

I cannot believe that Galloway is so ignorant as to allege that because Shah’s mother was present, the marriage was not forced. Galloway was an MP in Bethnal Green and Bow and now represents Bradford West, which both have large Asian communities. While forced marriage is not exclusive to south Asian cultures, he has, no doubt learned about the practice from his constituents.

My family were present at my Muslim wedding ceremony in India 10 years ago, along with 500 other guests at a huge reception. I wore the ornate clothes and jewels of an Indian bride, my hands were patterned with henna; but this outward appearance did not – and does not – change the fact that this was a forced marriage in every sense. I had repeatedly told my parents that I did not want to go through with the ceremony, but to no avail. Like Shah I was emotionally blackmailed. My mother threatened suicide if I did not comply because of the dishonour it would bring on our family.

I left my husband because staying felt like spiritual death. I had nothing left to give and I wanted, desperately, to live. Despite the shame I knew I would bring my family, I realised – for the first time – that my intellect, emotions, spirit and physical being mattered more.

After leaving I carved out my own life, surviving as best I could. For a time I was able to shut out my experience through keeping busy with work and seeing friends. But after periods of acute mental ill-health, I was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. Admitting I had been a victim was the hardest thing to do, but it was necessary in order to heal and process the trauma.

The ramifications of Galloway’s rhetoric are extremely worrying. By using Shah’s experience in this way, he puts future victims at risk. Using his platform and position as an MP he denies Shah the right to speak about her experiences by calling them into question. Shah says she was forced and emotionally blackmailed into her marriage – we should believe her. I worry about the impact Galloway’s comments will have on other survivors when they seek support. They already face the barrier of having to overcome the “honour code” which is drilled into them from childhood. The most important thing is to believe us victims of forced marriage when we say our parents were the perpetrators. Start with the premise of believing the victim – this in itself would be a revolutionary act.

As a British Asian Muslim woman it worries me hugely that someone like Galloway, in a position of power, can make these comments. Bradford has the largest proportion of Pakistanis in England (20.3%), which is almost a quarter of Bradford’s population; 24.7% are Muslim and they experience some of the highest rates of deprivation. Galloway’s anti-Iraq war stance and pro-Palestine views have gained him trust and support.

But by playing politics with Shah’s history as a forced marriage survivor Galloway has revealed himself to be both unscrupulous and dangerous; I hope the voters of Bradford West reject him.