Cambodia Suspends Foreign Marriages

Esther Mandelstamm/April 20, 2008/11:06pm/Gender Issues

There is a temporary ban on marriage between foreigners and Cambodians because of the rising number of broker unions involving poor, uneducated women. This report highlights the abuse of many Cambodian brides who went to South Korea following hastily arranged marriages. This ban will halt the increasing number of marriages of poor Cambodian women to foreign men, most from Taiwan and South Korea. There are brokers who charge up to $20,000 for each bride but only gives about $500 to $1000 to the Cambodian woman's family. The international Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that more than 1700 South Korean marriage visas were issued to Cambodian women in 2007 which is up from just 72 in 2004. These grooms are mostly factory workers and farmers who have trouble finding wives in South Korea because of their low job status. Although the report found no evidence of systematic abuse of Cambodian women who married South Koreans, it says that many do suffer violence. Srey Roth is the director of the Cambodia Women's Crisis Center and says "Some they cannot stay with the husband because the husband (is) so violent," Roth said. "And then the husband forces them to earn money for support their family. And they cannot get the nationality (citizenship), so it means that they stay under the husband or mother-in-law's control." Many marriage brokers from Taiwan and South Korea have mored to Cambodia since Vietnam banned them two years ago. The Cambodian government is cracking down. Three South Korean marriage agencies have been recently closed, accused of using arranged marriages as a front for human trafficking. The ban on foreign marriages in Cambodia is a step in the right direction giving authorities time to investigate brokered marriages. The IOM report focuses mostly on marriages between Cambodians and South Koreans, it also emphasizes the potential for problems globally; all brokered unions need to be better regulated. After Cambodia develops a legal framework to address these marriages, the ban will be lifted.
There seems to be a trend as I read articles from week to week, the taking advantage of poor uneducated women. These women are forced to marry men that do not care or respect them and are not even paid fairly. Marriage is becoming commercial, having brokers arrange marriages and keep the majority of the money. It is not fair to have these women treated as objects! I am glad to hear that there are going to be investigations and that there is a ban, the issue is that its temporary and what will happen in the future. Will these marriages continue in the future? This is a story I intend to follow.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-04-14-voa22.cfm