Clause 1
Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Bill [Lords]
10:45 am
Ann Cryer (Keighley, Labour)
It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this morning, Mr. Hood. I wonder whether I could mention a few facts that may help the Committee to understand what is going on. Owing to the practice of consanguinity—the marriage of first cousins—there is a large population of Mirpuri people among my disabled constituents. Those in the Mirpuri community with disabilities are over-represented within Keighley as a result of the transmission of genetic disorders. I am sorry; I am not explaining things too well. I did not realise that we would be talking about such matters.
Over the years, I have been involved in some very upsetting interviews with families putting pressure on me to allow their son or daughter to bring in a spouse from the subcontinent. They said that they wanted the spouse to take care of their son or daughter. I can understand their problems, but to meet the young boy or girl who clearly did not know what was going on was upsetting, so I should welcome anything that can help young people in such situations.