Forced marriage
I am a lesbian, I am now 27 years old. A year and a half ago, my family married me to a man who lives in Germany and has German citizenship. I do not like men, but at the same time I cannot object, as we are from an Arab society that prevents girls from their rights. This man applied for family reunification for me, and during the interview at the German embassy in Beirut, I could not tell the employee anything. I told her a story that did not belong to reality, for fear that everything would reach my family, especially since we are Palestinians, i.e. without a homeland. Now I want to separate, as I have not been able to get used to the current situation, and I cannot commit to the three years of residency with the partner before separation. Are there any solutions?
Reply (2)
Hello @alkilani thank you for reaching out to us! I am sure this situation must be difficult. It’s great that you are seeking advice.
I am happy to help and refer you to some organisation that specialize in forced marriage.
At first, I can give you some general guidelines.
There is a so-called “independent right of residence” which you can achieve after being married for 3 years in Germany, you mentioned you were only married for 1.5 years in Germany.
In some exceptional cases, such as forced marriage, you can also receive this residence before. However, this would have to be proved to the authorities and you should seek further advice before you apply for this. You can find more information on the this type of residency here:
https://handbookgermany.de/en/independent-residence-title-spouses#faq_2539
You can reach out to an organisation called Sheherazade, you can find their contact here:
https://www.scheherazade-hilft.de/english
They can also speak Arabic: https://www.scheherazade-hilft.de/arabisch
As well as https://lesmigras.de/de/arabisch
Please let me know if you were able to receive help from those organisations.
Best wishes
Thank you, I contacted Shahrazad organization and they are trying to find solutions for me in my current situation, but it is a very difficult situation as they will use the police to help me at the airport so that I do not have to deal with this man and to protect me and help me in applying for asylum, but she told me that it is not the best solution and advised me not to come to Germany, but if I do not travel my family will marry me to another man, if my family accepts the idea of divorce.