YOUNG girls are being raped after being forced into marriage by older men abroad while the Government “turns a blind eye” by handing their husbands entrance visas, an investigation has uncovered. The revelations came after Home Office officials were contacted by women who wanted admission stopped for men they had been made to wed in countries including Pakistan and India. But in almost half of the cases the men’s visas were still approved, The Times newspaper has revealed. Campaigners say the worrying news confirms fears Whitehall officials are ignoring reports from the victims of abuse over fears of being labelled racist. One victim, Rubie Marie was just 15 when she was taken to Bangladesh during the school holidays and forced to marry a 30-year-old man. She told how she was “dressed up like a doll” while her uncle took bids for her from men in a village. “They knew it was easy to get a visa if you marry a British girl, even if she is under-age,” she told the Times. “If you have a red passport you are worth a lot.” Rubie, who grew up in Wales with six siblings, was taken to Bangladesh before her GCSE exams. It’s now bee claimed victims are being let down because lawyers who help their families to secure visas for their husbands behind the bride’s back. After a six-month investigation The Times revealed that in some cases men are raping girls and making them pregnant because they believe a child will help… [Read full story]
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