The focal point of this research paper (2005) is the question: What place do forced marriages occupy in the process of choosing a spouse among Turks, Moroccans and Hindustani in the Netherlands? This research paper focuses on a comparison between the three groups named.

The following research questions are posed:

1. What views are held with respect to marriage, the importance of marriage and how it is brought about (especially the place given to freedom of choice, on the one hand, and coercion, on the others, with respect to who one is to marry)

2. What strategies to marriage partners use?

3. Within what societal context does the phenomenon of marriage fit?

4. How often does the process of choosing a partner go against the will of the partners?

5. What views do the groups involved have of the role of the government with respect to forced marriages?

Through interviews with young people, parents, key figures and social scientists, combined with an analysis of websites and literature, this research was conducted over the course of two months. This means that the research cannot provide a representative picture of numbers and trends. In this research paper, we primarily focus on describing the process of choosing a marriage partner and the place that forced marriages occupy within this process. By forced marriage we mean: a marriage in which the marriage partners, or one of them, have/has no say in the matter and does not consent to the marriage.

View the complete research paper in English .