Gay South Asians in Britain Forced into Straight Marriages

“I’m Sikh, and culturally the older generation don’t accept homosexuality. My father ordered me to marry a woman because he thought that would cure my homosexuality.” Ranjeep, a Sikh man living in the UK describes his family’s extreme response when he came out to them as gay in this BBC article about LGBTQ South Asians who are being forced into heterosexual marriages in Britain. The Foreign Office and Home Office set up the Forced Marriage Unit in 2005. Figures show 30 LGBT people who contacted the unit last year were among the 1,428 people who asked for help. The authorities feel that the real numbers are a lot higher but people are not speaking out.

Posted: July 22nd, 2017
Tags: Britain, forced marriage, gay, marriage, South Asian