No "barbaric" practices in Canada

By: Irina Sverdlichenko

The Harper government proposed new immigration rules that would refuse immigration applications to polygamous and forced marriage families (not including arranged marriages). Chris Alexander, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, called these practices “incompatible with Canadian values.”

These measures aim to reduce the barbaric practices justified by these archaic unions. The proposed bill is in response to some cases of honour killings, wherein Afghan men were accused of killing female relatives, like their wives or daughters, to rectify the dishonour that they felt they had brought upon the family. These measures would prevent the use of cultural differences as a mitigating factor of such heinous crimes.

The bill would also amend the Civil Marriage Act to ban marriage for anyone under the age of 16 and the Criminal Code to impose a maximum five-year prison term on anyone who “celebrates, aids or participates” in a marriage ceremony knowing that one of the parties is involved against their will or is below the legal age.

The first thing I wondered when I read this article was: what else is new? Canada looked into the validity of the polygamy ban years ago. There’s always ambiguity in these types of cases. Any law that might impede on one's right to practice religious freedom requires serious examination. In 2011, it was decided that it didn't go against the Charter, however, because marriage is defined as a union between two persons.

It makes perfect sense to limit the entrance of polygamous practices, when the RCMP is already pursuing polygamous leaders of large sects, such as in Bountiful, B.C. In 2011, the community was accused of smuggling eight under-aged girls into the U.S to marry pedophiles, one of whom was notorious polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, now in prison.

The lines of uncertainty on whether the pursuit to eradicate fundamentalist Mormon practices is valid become less ambiguous when one considers the sexual exploitation young girls in these sects experience.

Three years ago many women starting coming forward and recounting their harrowing ordeals as child brides in Warren Jeffs’ polygamist community. Among the most poignant was the tale of Elissa Wall, who was only fourteen when she was forced to marry her nineteen year-old cousin whom she despised.

Obviously, there is a need to eliminate these sorts of archaic, misogynistic religious practices. But this bill also aims to crack down on forced marriages which are not condoned by Canadian law. In countries like Afghanistan, forced marriage is still highly prevalent. I am reminded of the story of Humaira Taiba, a young girl whose marriage was arranged to a man 28 years her senior, from the time she was one-month old. When speaking to a reporter about her upcoming nuptials (at that time, she was seventeen), she explained: “I have been roaming for one and half years with a petition in my hand to find a solution for my destiny. Though suicide is illegal, but if I don’t get my right, I have to commit suicide.”

It's great that Chris Alexander is taking a definitive stance on eliminating the immigration of unions known to be tied to the exploitation of women and young girls. The backlash from fundamentalist religious sects and other countries will be strong, but it's more important to assure no one can use religious practices to justify unconstitutional acts.

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