HS Home 5.2.2002 - Hints of arranged marriages among immigrants in Finland

By Irja Hyvärinen

Finnish officials say that they have reason to believe that some immigrant families in Finland may have implemented arranged marriages for their children, or that plans for such marriages may be under way. However, nobody knows exactly how many such cases may have occurred.

An arranged marriage is not the same as a false marriage - the kind that are used to circumvent immigration rules - and as such Finnish officials do not interfere with them.

"The existence of arranged marriages sometimes comes up in interviews with immigrants, but they are extremely rare", says Heikki Taskinen, head of immigration at Finland's Directorate of Immigration.

Marriage is seen

as a very private affair, which many are reluctant to discuss with outsiders. The issue usually does not come to the attention of police unless something goes very seriously wrong.

According to Annikki Vanamo-Alho of the Ministry of the Interior, arranged marriages are a problem for second-generation immigrants, and there are not many of those in Finland yet. She says that there are no plans to investigate the number of arranged marriages in Finland as is being done now in Sweden.

"There have been discussions at Nordic meetings on arranged marriages. We know that it is a problem, but not yet for us. We are ten years behind the others."

Under international rules of family law

officials do not have the power to interfere with marriages - not even those that were arranged against the will of one of the partners.

Denmark solved the problem by changing its legislation on foreigners: the age limit for getting a residence permit was raised to 25 years.

"Finland makes the same demands of immigrants as it does of Finnish citizens", says Antero Leitzinger, a researcher at the Directorate of Immigration. "A marriage must be indicated in a person's passport or identity document. A man may not bring two wives to Finland, and the wife must be at least 15 years old."

Leitzinger says that it does not help for immigrants to say that they are acting according to the prevailing custom in their country.

Police in Tampere know of one case last year in which a woman brought to Finland did not want to marry the man chosen for her.

The Directorate of Immigration knows of another case in which a family that settled in Finland sent their daughter back to the old country to be married there. This story had a happy ending: the girl actually fell in love with her intended husband, who helped her get back to Finland, and came later himself.

In Finland today

, falling in love and personal choice are the important factors in choosing a partner. The idea of an arranged marriage is seen as a violation of human rights. This is not the case in the cultures of many immigrants.

"The prophet Mohammed married a nine-year-old girl, and many Kurdish families act likewise", says Omar Bahaldin, 39, the chairman of the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees.

"In the background there is an old idea, based on religion, of male dominance. A father or a brother are seen to have the right to kill a wife or sister who does not submit herself to his authority", Bahaldin says, in reference to the recent murder of the young Kurdish woman Fadime Sahindal in Sweden.

About 2,000 Kurds live in Finland. Bahaldin has no information about what agreements they may have made.

"The use of force is rare in all cultures. Usually parents try to act in the best interests of their children", says Leitzinger, who is an expert on the culture and customs of Western Asia and Russia.

Leitzinger's report on Kurdistan and the Kurds living in Finland is from last year.

"Arranged marriages are very common. In the Middle East, marriages are also arranged by Christians and Hindus - Muslims are not special cases in this respect. Arranged marriages were also quite common in Finland in the 19th century."

Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 1.2.2002