Mail-order bridle: Swedish minister backs controversial 2-year ‘wife import’ rule

Mail-order bridle: Swedish minister backs controversial 2-year ‘wife import’ rule:
The problems stem from a nationwide marriage practice called‘fruimport’, when a Swedish man starts a relationship with aforeign woman - often from nations such as Thailand, Russia, Iraq,the Philippines, Brazil, and China - frequently locking her laterinto a marriage of violence and sexual exploitation.

Despite investigations into how widespread the problem is by herpredecessor, Sweden’s new Equality Minister Mary Arnholm has statedthat she wants the country to retain the right to deport foreignwomen who separate from their Swedish husbands within two years ofmarriage.

“I support the two-year rule. I think it serves itspurpose,” Arnholm said in a statement to Swedish newspaperSvenska Dagbladet on Friday

The law was originally instated to prevent ‘sham marriages’ lastingless than two years for the purposes of securing resident visas.However, it could also result in women remaining in violent andabusive relationships for an extended period.

Despite maintaining that she backs the two-year rule, Arnholdherself stated that there was a serious problem, saying that womenshould not stay with abusive husbands because of this law.

“We must at all costs avoid the feeling that one gets thrown outof Sweden if you leave a man,” she also said.

However, this feeling may be difficult to avoid. More than 10,000women every year enter Sweden to live with a Swedish man, accordingto national news agency, Svt.se.

Of these, between 500 and 900 women every year are exposed toviolence or are in other ways a victim of the practice, accordingto a 2012 survey of social services, police, emergency rooms andshelters in 92 municipalities in five counties acrossSweden.

Governor Eva Eriksson, who headed the 2012 survey, alleges that thefigure is higher, and thousands of newly arrived women seek helpannually after some form of assault at the hands of their partners.Children could also be seriously impacted by the abuse.

At the time, the figures were welcomed by Roks, the NationalOrganization for Women's and Girl's Shelters in Sweden, whoreleased their first report on the subject in 2009, underlining thepractice, and pointing out the large power imbalance between menand women, leaving women open to abuse. The organization alsoestimates that it comes in to contact with about 500 such womenevery year.

Eriksson carried out the survey on behalf of former EqualityMinister Nyamko Sabuni, who Arnholm replaced in January.

“Even a woman who has a temporary residence permit must be ableto feel safe and protected by Swedish law. And I do not think …thetwo-year rule really inspires the right protection,” saidSabuni last year, according to DN.se.

As well as speaking out against the two-year rule, she concludedthat Sweden should also increase controls on Swedish men whoattempt to bring in wives.

There had been calls for Arnholm to make her position on the matterknown. This February, Swedish Center Party president Gunilla Hjelmdemanded a stop to the practice.

“We now call on the new Equality Minister Mary Arnholm to push forimmediate action against the fruimport,” she said, reiteratingthat it puts thousands of women in vulnerable positions.