The Government has rejected calls to change marriage legislation in New Zealand after it was revealed a Pakistani girl was forced into marriage and threatened with death by her family.
Human rights organisation UNICEF is calling for legislation change to prevent forced and child marriages.
The call follows the discovery of a 17-year-old girl held hostage in an abusive forced marriage in Wellington.
UNICEF executive director Dennis McKinlay says it is disappointing to hear of the Pakistani teen's case.
He says officials who gave out the marriage licence should have been more aware that something was not right, and therefore training of officials should take place.
McKinlay said there was a select committee inquiry in 2010 which made a set of recommendations to protect young women who could be subjected to the practice.
"UNICEF New Zealand supports the call for legislation to be introduced that specifically targets forced and child marriages. In addition, a national education and awareness campaign of the issue should be undertaken to provide Government officials, community leaders and professionals with more information."
He says the Government is yet to take on those recommendations.
McKinlay says there are about 25 cases of forced marriage a year in New Zealand.
Tip of the iceberg
There is a warning from the coordinator of the ethnic support group Shakti, Shasha Ali, that the case of the 17-year-old is just the tip of a growing iceberg in this country.
"We are seeing an increasing number of younger and younger women assessing our services with regards to forced and underage marriages," Ali told TV ONE's Breakfast.
She said some girls calling for help are as young as 13 and 14.
"The Marriage Act obviously has some provisions in terms of what constitutes a legal marriage and what Shakti advocates for is a review of specific provisions so the legal age of young woman who are being forced into marriage can be increased from 16 to 18."
She said the girls asking for help are the brave ones and there are a lot of cases that do not get reported.
"When the girls do come to us for help they saying there are more girls out there that are too scared to ask for help or don't believe there is a way out of this."
She said it is a cultural problem because it is cloaked in tradition.
"But in the context of what we're talking about it's really a violation of basic human rights. I mean every young woman should have the freedom to choose who she wants to be with and the future she wants to live in New Zealand, so I think it's more than a cultural problem."
Last year a United Nations committee asked the Government to look into the practice.
The Government said it will continue to work with ethnic communities through education rather than changing the law.
Justice Minister Judith Collins said Cabinet had been advised that there was no gap in the law, the Dominion Post reported.
"Forced marriage is illegal in New Zealand - we have one law for everyone, irrespective of their culture and tradition," she said.
"Making further changes to the law is not the most effective way to address the issue of forced marriage. Our key focus will be on continuing to engage with ethnic communities about the existing New Zealand law."
- with Newstalk ZB
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