Girls told to put spoon in their shorts to avoid forced wedding

A SCHOOL in Leeds is attempting to tackle forced marriages by giving their pupils spoons to hide in their underwear to trigger airport metal detectors.

Students at the Co-operative Academy in Harehills have all been given the cutlery as part of a programme designed to raise awareness about “honour-based abuse” and forced marriage.

The scheme has been implemented in the hope that pupils who fear they are being taken overseas for an arranged marriage can hide the spoons in their underwear to trigger airport metal detectors, allowing them to raise their concerns with security staff privately.

Harinder Kaur, the social culture and ethos leader at the academy said the spoons would “save lives”.

Ms Kaur said that 80 per cent of UK forced marriages happen abroad during the summer holidays, making it peak time for parents to take daughters abroad to be married.

“In the six-week holiday, we know there is no contact between school and the family – and families have that opportunity to go abroad, get their child married and come back,” she said.

“As educators, we have a responsibility to empower children with the knowledge and ability to make a difference to their own lives and the lives of others.”

Natasha Rattu, head of learning and development at Karma Nirvana, the human rights charity, said girls were often conditioned from a young age to consider arranged marriages to be normal.

She added that the spoon method had been used successfully in the past and raises awareness in young people who might not realise they are victims of abuse.