Does the prospect of arranged marriage and abuse warrant asylum in the US?
An immigration judge said no, but an appeals court panel found a valid fear of persecution.
from the March 23, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
The appeals court said that women who had been sold into marriage and who live in a part of China where forced marriages are considered valid and enforceable could qualify for refugee protection in the US. The appeals court found that, under such circumstances, Gao "might well be persecuted in China – in the form of lifelong, involuntary marriage."
In contrast, the immigration judge viewed the case as a civil dispute between Gao's family, which had taken $2,200 in exchange for turning their daughter over for marriage, and the would-be husband who paid $2,200 for a bride. "This is clearly a dispute between two families and does not establish that [Gao] is a refugee," the immigration judge ruled.
Others disagree. "This is not just a civil case to pay this man off," says Stephen Knight, deputy director of the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies at the University of California's Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. "We see this as a civil rights case of someone who has been sold into marriage."
In China, the crucial component in an arranged marriage is the exchange of money, not the wishes of the prospective bride. A Chinese court would probably order the marriage to go forward over Gao's objections, Mr. Knight says.
"She should have the right to choose her husband," he says. "If she can't because she has been sold to someone who can bring down the power of the Chinese state to enforce the marriage, then she is a refugee."
The Bush administration suggests in its brief that if the Second Circuit decision stands, it might trigger a flood of women from around the globe fleeing unhappy arranged marriages. Knight says he's seen no flood since the appeals court decision was handed down in March 2006.
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