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I'm not sure how many people are aware of a legal change which is due to occur in November. In November the government is planing to put up the age for obtaining a marriage visa from 18 to 21. I have heard about this because it's big news in amongst Jews because the legal change is set to have a big effect upon some Jewish communities, where marriage in the late teens and early twenties are the norm and shiduchs frequently cross national boundaries.
The government claims that the change is to reduce forced marriage. What a classic New Labour move. Bad Thing is happening. Should we actually address Bad Thing? No, we'll make a relatively innocuous activity illegal, which is easier to stop but also easy to get around if you're determined to do Bad Thing. That's try to get at what the government's actual motivation is by looking at the likely effects of the legislation. Will the legislation reduce the number of forced marriages? There are differing opinions but the legislation doesn't stop people marrying off their children, it just stops their new spouse entering the country. So forced marriages will still occur but both partners will now live in the country of the foreign spouse. I don't want to slander other countries, but surely if you were genuinely worried about people in forced marriages, it might be better for both partners to be living in the UK rather than Pakistan, if you want to be able to help people out of the situation? What will the legislation do? Reduce immigration and encourage British ethnic minorities to emigrate. Am I the only person who heard about this and immediately thought "What a transparent attempt to reduce the number of darkies in the country."
I hate this fucking racist authoritarian government.
The government claims that the change is to reduce forced marriage. What a classic New Labour move. Bad Thing is happening. Should we actually address Bad Thing? No, we'll make a relatively innocuous activity illegal, which is easier to stop but also easy to get around if you're determined to do Bad Thing. That's try to get at what the government's actual motivation is by looking at the likely effects of the legislation. Will the legislation reduce the number of forced marriages? There are differing opinions but the legislation doesn't stop people marrying off their children, it just stops their new spouse entering the country. So forced marriages will still occur but both partners will now live in the country of the foreign spouse. I don't want to slander other countries, but surely if you were genuinely worried about people in forced marriages, it might be better for both partners to be living in the UK rather than Pakistan, if you want to be able to help people out of the situation? What will the legislation do? Reduce immigration and encourage British ethnic minorities to emigrate. Am I the only person who heard about this and immediately thought "What a transparent attempt to reduce the number of darkies in the country."
I hate this fucking racist authoritarian government.