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A British Diplomat's Mission Of Rescue
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In Britain, girls of Pakistani descent, many of them first-generation British citizens, are raised in a Western country where women dress, date and marry as they please. Some rebel against the traditions of their parents' homeland, where liquor is banned, women cover their heads, and it is scandalous for unmarried women to talk to men who are not their relatives.
No culture or religion endorses forced marriages, but parents often see it as a way of defending their traditions. Marriage to a first cousin or someone from the family's home village is viewed as a way to preserve family honor, prevent marriage outside their religion and keep wealth within the family.
So parents bring their daughters to Pakistan, revealing their true intentions only after they arrive. By then, the girls are surrounded by family, with no place to turn and the threat of violence if they resist.
Before 2000, British officials tended to view forced marriages as a foreign custom not theirs to judge. But these British-raised young women are increasingly worldly and assertive, and many now have cellphones hidden in their burqas or handbags.
From even the remotest villages, they are increasingly calling for help. And the British government has set up a special group to rescue them.
The Forced Marriage Unit operates out of an office on the edge of Trafalgar Square in London and rescues hundreds of women every year. Many of the 4,000 calls it receives each year involve cases in the United Kingdom, but the unit has diplomats in embassies around the world on standby for overseas rescues.
Rawlins heads the team in Pakistan, which handles about two-thirds of the cases reported outside Britain. It operates with the consent of Pakistani authorities.
On the phone, Rawlins talked about the teenage girl, who, like other women interviewed for this article, are not identified out of concern for their safety and as a condition of riding along with British officials. Rawlins conferred with her colleague Albert David, who sat in the SUV's front seat wearing Ray-Bans and a crisp dress shirt. David, 38, a Pakistani, has worked on hundreds of these cases.
"We have to get her out of the country quickly," David said.
The girl's boyfriend in London, desperate to stop the marriage, arranged to have friends drive her to the embassy after she sneaked out of her family's home. In retaliation, the family filed kidnapping charges with the Pakistani police, who threw the boyfriend's Pakistani father and brother in jail, a blunt tactic to force the girl to comply.
Rawlins dialed her office. She needed an emergency passport for the girl. And plane reservations. She called London to ask for money; the girl must pay for her flight, but the government would lend cash if she needed it.
'This Is a Family Matter'
Along the road, Rawlins's face clouded as she read a new text message. It was from the woman they were on their way to rescue. "My parents have come around so you don't need to come today," the text read, "Sorry for the bother."
