-
"Forced
marriage is defined as a union to which one or both parties did
not consent and that cannot be left freely. “Such arrangements
can involve forced labor, sexual exploitation, or domestic
servitude. Young girls account for many of the victims of forced
marriages. - About 88 percent of the victims are women and girls; children make up more than one-third of all victims.
- Female foeticide is a widespread phenomenon in India and has contributed to a shortage in women, such as in the state of Haryana, where there are only 830 girls for every 1,000 boys.
- Evidence suggests there is a growing trend for brides to move from the poorer eastern or southern parts of the country to the more prosperous areas in the north where there is a higher male to female sex ratio.
- The skewed sex ratio in some regions in India is fuelling trafficking and selling of brides within India. Women are reportedly sold off into marriage by their families, sometimes at a young age, and end up enduring severe abuse, rape, and exploitation by their husbands.
- Indian women and girls from impoverished backgrounds are reportedly also lured by promises of marriage by younger men from urban areas, but then forced into sex work once married to their husbands. The men usually formally court the woman and seek approval from her family. This often means the family will not immediately search for or report the woman as missing if contact breaks down once she has fallen victim to sexual exploitation. It is also reported that sometimes the husband returns to the community to shame the family by claiming that the woman or girl has run away so that the family will refrain from reporting their relative to authorities as missing.
- There are also reported cases of Indian women trafficked overseas for marriage. In 2017, Hyderabad police arrested five Omani and three Qatari nationals, as well as three Muslim priests on charges of human trafficking and child marriage revolving around a scheme marrying young Muslim Indian girls to men from Arab countries. Police reported that in many cases the young brides encountered exploitation in their husband’s home country and were forced into domestic servitude or sexual slavery." Global Slavery Index