'There is hope' indeed

After hours of research into the statistics of the number of women affected by forced marriage I was beginning to think that the Forced Marriage Act 2007 was not enough to make a difference.

In a culture surrounded by family loyalty and silence, forced marriage had become a crime that was difficult to uncover but for the women seeking help in refuges it was very real. I visited refuges full of women and teenage girls who had escaped forced marriage in order to write a series of features during the summer this year. At the time of their escape they did not have a law specifically designed to protect them despite most refuges opening and offering help in the early eighties.

To my amazement this week the UK courts have given protection to a Bangladeshi doctor who escaped a marriage she was coerced into by her parents. ‘There is hope’, are the words of Humayra Abedin, the 32-year-old doctor from East London, who has publicly escaped forced marriage and is seeking an annulment after being held for four months in Bangladesh. The media attention around this story will not only provide national coverage and understanding to the British public (which will hopefully lead to more people picking up on the issue in their communities and reporting any wrong doings) but it also shows the perpetrators that they can no longer get away with forced marriage.

The Forced Marriage Act will enable the UK courts to protect a person from being forced to enter into a marriage without their full and free consent or someone who has already been forced into a marriage.

In a press release at the time the act was out to use Justice Minister, Bridget Prentice said: “This legislation sends out a clear message that forced marriage, a breach of an individual's basic right to choose who and when they marry, is not acceptable in our society. It will enable us to make better use of civil court remedies to provide protection to those placed in this intolerable position.
“The Act is just one part of a much wider programme of work already underway to raise awareness of the problem of forced marriages and protect women's rights in this area.”

And hopefully they will and more coverage will be given to encourage victims of forced marriage to speak up.



Picture: http://scarlettcrusader.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/forced-marriage-poster.gif

There is no honour in killing

Please sign this petition to urge the British Government to take action against honour killings.

http://www.petitiononline.com/surjit/petition.html

India, 42 Days and Unemployment

After completing my masters project I am back on the blogger and find myself with some free time. I recently watched Paul Merton in India, and honestly, I think Gujarat has more to offer than spiritual disciples who can lift huge rocks with their dangly bits. If India is to be the next superpower Merton is certainly showing the country's faults and flaws. But as he said himself in the documentary, "Nothing in India is as it seems."

Closer to home, I'm happy to see that the 42 day detention has been rejected today by the Lords. Having expressed my opinions in the post below!

And even more closer to home, having completed my educational journey I am no longer a student and I am officially unemployed.

Will keep you updated on the job hunt, and more analysis of the press....and TV occasionally.

42 Days

At this very moment the commons are debating on laws that will alter the power of police and the rights of many Muslim people. I say Muslim because they are the ones who are targeted under the Terrorism Act but as we have seen it can exist in many forms. The man with a grudge, Miles Cooper, sent letter bombs to various locations to protest against an authoritarian state.

I have had many British Asian friends who have been stopped and searched at train stations, and airports, and they have been mostly male, with a beard and carrying a bag. That generic description seems to be the criteria for a stop and search.

An arrest is based on more evidence but how far do these laws stretch when it comes to the evidence. Take a look at the report in The Guardian and about the grounds on which this young, politically active, Muslim student was arrested. This is one of many case studies which demonstrate the damaging effect on the lives of innocent people held under the current counter-terrorism laws. An extension of those laws will not only hand over more power to the police but will be a huge violation on human rights if that person held turns out to be, like many others, innocent.

Tony Blair tried and failed to bring in the 90 day detention law and now Brown is making his mark with this new proposal. Jacqui Smith has offered to help the commons with this decision. Both the Home Secretary and Tony McNulty say that it is just a precaution and that the entire 42 days might never be used in reality.

However in the UK’s current climate terrorism is number one on the list of the crime people fear in Britain. This fear can be used to legitimise the detention of suspects but it can also lead to the discrimination of those held and released without charge. The stigma attached to the crime can stay with them for a lifetime.

I believe it is essential to be able to build up a case against terrorists but not at the expense of innocent people. Britain has the longest detention times for terrorists compared to the rest of the world and this issue needs to be re-analysed and tested not just debated by MP’s.

Reports state that the outcome of today's vote is unpredictable but if the government wins the Tories will repeal the decision. Just last week Sir John Major launched an attack not only on the 42 day detention plans but on Labour's war on terror since 2001.

It will take 35 rebel Labour MP's to defeat the proposals, we will have to wait and see...

Interview

University graduate Helen Dewey, 22, needed to get away from her life in England and fast. Her desperation to leave the people around her ended up in a six months travelling experience across the world.

Sitting in a police cell in Hertfordshire after being arrested for assault I decided I had had enough of England and all the people in it. I decided on martial arts school in China as the first leg of my journey. Culturally I have never seen anything like it.

I set off for kung fu school and until now I thought there was no place in the world where there are no people and no noise, but at the bottom of a mountain in the countryside of China I found solace. I stayed with Monks who spoke no English for two months, with a translator visiting once a week. It was like I was back in school again; there was a schedule each day. I ran up mountains, I practised punching and meditated. If you have ever seen the movie Kill Bill you will no the type of training I received from the monks.

The best day in China and in my whole trip was after three days of torrential wind and rain. The day after was the brightest sunshine I’d ever seen and the reservoir down the road had filled up, so I went swimming in freezing cold mountain water. It was the most amazing day.
I spent a few days in Beijing and the first thing you notice is the massive police presence. You are very aware of the segregation of rich and poor. I would be at Tiananmen Square and then five minutes down the road you would see poor people using the streets as a toilet. It was very strange.

I moved onto Tokyo where I met a Spanish boy and had sushi with him. We went to the fish markets at 5am and decided to have sushi at 7am. It was the most disgusting thing I have ever done; the Spanish boy was lovely though.

My next stop was India where I did work experience on a national newspaper, The Indian Express. I got a marriage proposal within a week of being in the country from a stranger off the street. I told him my husband wouldn’t like it, and he said, “Well he can’t be a very good husband! He’s not here now.” After that day I wore a ring on my wedding finger every time I went out. I tried to avoid walking the streets after I had to tell a four year old girl that I had no money to give her for food. That feeling of guilt I will never forget.

In Germany it was snowing. I have been here before visiting my sister who is a translator. I then went to Vancouver to visit my other sister, a primary school teacher. The one thing I noticed in Canada is that no-one was attractive; they were all like faced and boring.

I ended my journey in America. I went to Miami and went on a duck tour on a lorry boat, imagine a boat with wheels. At the beaches the lifeguards with their skin like leather were really pompous; they literally jumped off their stations straight onto quad bikes, even to go ten metres away.

New York was mediocre, I would never visit again. New Orleans was different; we stayed in an old orphanage where someone kindly told me that children had died in a fire on the floor I was staying on. The views from the windows were astonishing. It was on the edge of a bad area with dilapidated houses with old style porches made of wood. I also went to Mardi Gras, got drunk and ended up in a strip club.

Las Vegas was my last destination. It wasn’t as tacky as I thought, even though my hotel was shaped like a castle. I gambled three dollars in the slot machines. It was more complicated then it looks on TV, there were buttons and a lever.

I knew I would travel as a child living in France during my school years. I remember almost getting kidnapped by a Moroccan who wanted to sell me in Africa where white blonde girls were desired. My travelling experience is my greatest achievement because I went on my own and I didn’t get mugged. I am more tolerant of people now I’m back in England. I feel privileged compared to the people I met on my journey. It has been the best time but I don’t want it to be the best time ever.

Print vs Online

Given the task of comparing the content of The Daily Mirrors print and online version I was surprised to find that the ink and paper version surpassed the web. I looked in particular at the coverage of the Fritzl case in Austria.

The Mirror splashed on both the front page and home page with the story, with links to more about the story.

The online version, although the copy was the same as in the print version, lacked the impact of images. The paper went for a two page spread with pictures of Elisabeth Fritzl, her father, mother, two daughters and an image of the family tree, showing the six children she had with her father and a note about the seventh dying three days after birth.

Although newspaper circulation is dying, in this case I think that the print version has covered this tragic story with more impact that the multimedia online version.

I was set the task of finding something to do for an experience feature, so I decided to go speed dating, expecting a group of old, balding men, I was quite surprised when I walked into the event venue. Here is my feature about the event.

Name Tag. Check. Number. Check. 18 Men. Check. I’m number 6, my name is Mindi. Sitting at a round table in a dark bar with tinted purple flower windows there is a scent of alcohol mixed with the overuse of aftershave and perfume.

Two over enthusiastic women rally up the guys and girls who are scattered drinking and nervously chatting at 101 Bar on New Oxford Street. Jennifer and Lisa are our hosts for the night, Lisa does the introduction: “Welcome to slow dating, it’s like speed dating but you get an extra minute added to the usual three. Have a fun night, don’t be shy and don’t forget to shift when you hear the bell!”

The ringing of the bell begins the first date. Clement is a 27 year old French man and it’s his birthday. We awkwardly get through four minutes by babbling on about ourselves and our jobs. The bells sounds for a 30 second break to fill in your personal speeding ticket with a few details next to your date’s name. Clement gets a note detailing two things, French and birthday.

Slow Dating was established four years ago, the events take place in swanky bars in cities across the country, based on age ranges. I went to the 22 to 29 night and it proved to be an eye opener. The idea of speed dating for me was the last resort for people who couldn’t get dates. This naïve point of view was dispelled very quickly when I saw smartly dressed, attractive men and women making conversation with the hosts at the bar.

The event is amazingly fast although it lasts for an hour and a half. Split in two halves, the first part you see 10 dates and the second the remaining eight. By the time you get to the fifth or sixth date you will be exhausted and by then end of the first half you need the fifteen minute break, also known as another chance to get a drink at the bar.

During the exhilarating first half, where people are getting used to the art of trying to make the best impression on the person staring at them within a four minute deadline, I met Drew. This 23 year old man asked me what I did on Saturday, which threw me considering I had been asked my name and profession by the previous five dates. He’s ‘a veteran speed dater’ the girl sitting next to me spurts out a few seconds after Drew leaves our table. This means he’s been speed dating on more than one occasion.

40 minutes, five investment bakers, four IT consultants, a lawyer and an online gambler later it was definitely time for a break. The host Jennifer explained the attraction of speed dating. “It’s like having 18 dates in one night, many of the people at our events are professionals and therefore do not have time to go out and find someone.

“The service we offer is perfect, and if you don’t find anyone that matches you we give you a free pass to another event. Slow Dating also donates a percentage of their profits to breast cancer campaigns. Last year we gave £1000 to Against Breast Cancer.”

I felt as though my £22 wasn’t just for my own gain, it may end up being for a good cause. Roll on the alcohol fuelled second half. The men at this point of the evening are feeling very brave. Rajesh, another investment banker, at the end of our date asked me to guess what rating he was going to give me out of ten. Of course I declined such a narcissistic task. Some of them started with a joke, which I had to laugh at for the fear of being in a state of uncomfortable silence for the remaining three minutes.

Speed dating is fun, and extremely entertaining way to spend a night, you will meet a great mix of people who at the very least will be trying their best to impress. The day after a date night is always a difficult time for anyone, thinking about how to let someone down when they ask for another date or trying to get a chance to see someone again without sounding too keen.

With Slow Dating the online system puts all these worries in a box, you simply tick or you don’t. I took a liking to Australian Ben surprisingly an investment banker, so I ticked and suddenly received a text. ‘You have matched with Ben, see online for contact details.’

One successful night. Check.