Reconceiving Forced Marriage into Armed Groups as Forced Recruitment in International Refugee Law

Abstract

Forced marriage is widespread, occurring in armed conflicts around the world, with armed groups increasingly relying on the practice. Women at risk of, or who have experienced, forced marriage into armed groups may cross international borders and seek asylum in host countries where international refugee law applies. This article provides a unique in-depth analysis of the practice of forced marriage into armed groups under international refugee law. The article demonstrates how inter-disciplinarity enables us to conceive of forced marriage into armed groups as a form of forced recruitment and thereby interpret it as arising for reasons of imputed political opinion in international refugee law. The conceptualization is important, as the main cause of forcible displacement today is violence in armed conflicts. Moreover, it redresses the traditional view of forced marriage as a private and cultural practice imposed by women’s family members and their ethnic or religious communities by revealing its instrumental nature and its strategic and political practice in the context of armed conflicts. The article calls for revised guidance to address the current knowledge and policy gap in international refugee law.