A Raval association achieves the dissolution of a forced marriage in Pakistan

It was his father who forced Anisa“To blows”, to sign a form to marry a relative; A nephew of the parent, who was in Pakistan. A Forced marriage that, already formalized, managed to abort Huma Jamshedfounder and president of the Pakistani Women Association (ACISOP). The victim, then 21 years old, was hidden at the headquarters of the entity for five days, in the Barcelona neighborhood of Raval, along with her true couple, who traveled from Dubai to the Catalan capital, after knowing what happened.

Huma alerted the police that, finally, he arrested the parent, in May 2023, accused of It deals with human beings, favoring irregular immigration and documentary falsehood. This Tuesday, he held a new victory, now in the judicial field: Anisa’s forced link cancellationwho is already 24 years old. The resolution will now allow the young woman to process the single certificate to marry the couple she freely chose.

Jamshed points out that Decision of a Pakistani judge is a great step towards the protection of womenand an “important precedent, since it confirms that no family can impose a marriage by force.” «The cancellation of Anisa’s forced marriage sends a forceful message to all the families who think that imposing a wedding on their daughters or sons can have a place in 2025. Justice, both in Spain and in Pakistan, supports the freedom of choice of choice of the Women, and from AcuSop we will continue working so that these cases are not repeated, ”he target this Tuesday.

Huma arrived in Barcelona from his native Pakistan in 2001. The reason was family regrouping. Her husband founded a travel agency and, although she, a doctor in Chemistry, had already worked as a teacher and worked at the CSIC, agreed to lend a hand with the business. He was also leaking a hand, in this case, compatriots with bureaucratic procedures – “then Google did not work how now,” he recalled in an interview with ABC – as he ended up founding an association, ACISOPin the heart of the Raval, to empower Pakistani women. This went from processing visas or translating documentation, to prevent concerted marriages.

In 2021, Anisa was transferred from Barcelona to Pakistanand victim of physical violence, he signed the concerted union. Upon returning to the Catalan capital, he anonymously contacted the Huma Association, which only requires a condition in exchange for providing their help: that women report, and thus started the investigation of the National Police, which culminated with the arrest of the arrest of the The young woman’s father.

Anisa and her partner are still under protection in a host floor. Once you get the single certificate, you can legally marry it. «This decision confirms that this union was never a real marriage, since it did not have its consent. Now you can leave behind any link that was imposed against your will and rebuild your life, ”Jamshed celebrated. And, as alert from his association, Although in Pakistan there are laws that typify and sanction this practice, its application, especially in rural areas, is very limited“Which perpetuates the vulnerability of many women and girls.”

In addition to cultural and religious factors, the lack of access to education, the economic precariousness of some families and social pressure contributes to the problem persisting, explains Huma, which also warns that numerous cases are not denounced for fear of reprisals or stigmatization . Therefore, the judicial decision after Anisa’s forced marriage is due to the increase in pressure on the Pakistani authorities “to enforce the law.”

«Our legal victory is a message of hope for those who continue to face the threat of an unseeled marriage. Forced marriages, wherever they are, will not prosper, ”he defends.