NPR’s On Point today features Unchained’s founder and executive director, Fraidy Reiss, in a discussion about forced marriage in the U.S.
For details on how to listen, click here.
Arranged/forced marriage in the U.S.
More than 60 communities in the U.S. practice some form of arranged/forced marriage. A 2011 survey by the Tahirih Justice Center found 3,000 known or suspected cases in the previous two years alone of girls in the U.S. as young as 15 who were forced to marry under threats of death, beatings or ostracism.
A woman who faces limited or no choice when she enters an arranged marriage often faces the same if she wants to leave it. She probably struggles with religious laws or social customs that make divorce difficult for a woman. She typically has no money and little understanding of the American legal system. She might have been shunned by her family and friends, who consider divorce shameful.
Unchained is the only nonprofit in the U.S. dedicated to helping women overcome those challenges, leave their arranged/forced marriage and rebuild their lives. In less than two years, with an almost all-volunteer staff (except one part-time paid social worker), Unchained has helped or is helping more than 70 women.