"JOINING HANDS AGAINST FORCED MARRIAGES" (C-NC9-01624)

UNCLAS MADRID 000802

SIPDIS
FOR EUR/WE, DRL, G

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PINR SCUL KWMN SP
SUBJECT: "JOINING HANDS AGAINST FORCED MARRIAGES" (C-NC9-01624)

REF: STATE 80201


1. (U) In Spain, the "Joining Hands Against Forced Marriages"
campaign organized by Professor Ramadan and SPIOR was facilitated by
the Spanish government-sponsored, "Casa Arabe", an institutional
consortium of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the autonomous states
of Madrid and Andalucia, and the cities of Madrid and Csrdoba, which
seeks to promote dialogue, mutual understanding, and cooperation
with Arab countries and the Muslim world. Professor Ramadan and
SPIOR representative Marianne Vorthoren presented a campaign
overview at Casa Arabe on May 22, 2008. The audience was estimated
at 30-50 participants. A videotape of the conference is available
on the Casa Arabe website at:
http://www.casaarabe-ieam.es/index.php?modulo =
contenido&idioma=es&id=116&seccion=3


2. (U) The Casa Arabe Director opened the 2008 conference noting
that it was important to bring the topic of forced marriage to
public attention, encourage debate among European Muslims and foster
dialogue. She noted that Islam, as a religion, does not establish
forced marriage. She also reminded the audience that forced
marriage was not unique to Muslim communities, referencing forced
marriage practices in Romany, Gypsy, Hindu and African communities
as well. Professor Ramadan gave an overview of the program's
inception and called for local level initiatives to take further
action. SPIOR Representative Vorthoren presented a slide show in
English (with Spanish simultaneous interpretation for the audience)
describing the logistics of the campaign in The Netherlands. An
English version and Spanish translation of the SPIOR published
booklet "Joining Hands Against Forced Marriages" was distributed at
the end of the conference.


3. (U) Casa Arabe has neither current plans for follow-on
initiatives nor to republish the Spanish language booklet. Embassy
outreach to a variety of Muslim community organizations found that
most groups were unaware of the May 2008 conference and unaware of
any ongoing efforts to combat forced marriage. There does not
appear to be an active branch linked with SPIOR in Spain. The
Spanish government does combat forced marriage in more general ways
through the Equality Ministry and other social welfare institutions
focusing on human rights.

4Q|Eractice. Professor Ramadan also called for local and national
Muslim leaders to address the topic at the grass-roots level and
engage in self-critical review rather than allowing outsiders to
define Muslim practices - whether regarding forced marriage, wearing
the veil, etc. With the message, "don't let others set the
agenda," the conference discussants called for discourse. Fifteen
months later, it appears that the call for action is not resonating
with local groups at the grass roots level as a wide range of Muslim
contacts canvassed by Embassy staff was not aware of the campaign.

DUNCAN