Campaign tackling forced marriages is rolled out across Hackney

A campaign to tackle the behaviours and attitudes which lead to forced marriages is being rolled out across Hackney.

The JAN Trust, a women’s charity dealing with issues concerning minority communities and migrants, is leading the initiative called ‘Mujboor’ - meaning ‘forced’ in Urdu.

Workshops and seminars will be run in schools and colleges, highlighting the support available to those affected, and seminars aimed at teachers should sensitise them to the issue and help them spot potential victims.

The campaign was founded by Sajda Mughal, project director at JAN Trust who also sits on the Foreign Commonwealth Office’s Forced Marriage Unit Partnership Board.

“We want to raise awareness on this inhumane act and educate women and girls about their rights,” she said.

“At the same time we want mothers to be able to support their daughters by giving them correct information which clearly states that a forced marriage is not an act permitted by Islam.”

Although forced marriage is widespread across all communities, statistics show the majority of victims come from a South Asian background.

The campaign was initially launched in Slough and continued in the London boroughs of Newham, Redbridge, and Waltham Forest, where it has already gained strong support from teachers.