Abuse, violence and abandonment are real problems in transnational marriages, according to a new study published by the University of Lincoln earlier this year.
The report defines transnational marriage abandonment as “abandonment of foreign national wives in their country of origin by their husbands who are nationals or residents of another country”, which is particularly prevalent in marriages which span the UK and the Indian subcontinent.
Due to the intersection of marriage and migration, women who find themselves abandoned in their country of origin are unable to file for divorce or seek financial aid from their spouses, something which the report calls a “deliberate infraction of their legal rights to protection, support and rehabilitation.”
One woman who experienced transnational marriage abandonment, referred to as ‘M’, spoke in front of the Houses of Parliament early last month. She detailed how her husband lured her back to Pakistan on the pretence of a family wedding, but on arrival, her in laws confiscated her and her children’s passport. Her husband, a British national, then returned to the UK and when the rest of his family followed, M and her children were left homeless and destitute.
While M’s story on its own is heartbreaking, the report states that the number of women who have been transnationally abandoned by their husbands could be in the thousands. It took M seven years to be granted a visa for re-entry into the UK, and though she’s settled in the north of England, she has another battle to fight for her right to remain.
The fact that we live in a far smaller world where international travel is much easier than it was 100, or even 50 years ago, means that the way in which women experience abuses against both their person and their human rights has also changed. The report concludes with a number of recommendations for changes in UK and international law. They are as follows:
The full report on transnational marriage abandonment can be read here.
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