‘She, of Course, Holds No Political Opinions’ : Gendered Political Opinion Ground in Women’s Forced Marriage Asylum Claims

This article comments on the continued struggle that women face when pursuing asylum claims under the Refugee Convention. It criticizes how the Convention has been applied using the ground of “political opinion” in circumstances of gender based persecution, particularly claims of forced marriage in Britain and the United Kingdom. The main argument presented is that the political opinion ground can and should be used for claims of forced marriage rather than associating gender based persecution with the category of “social group”. If a refugee is fleeing their country of origin to escape a forced marriage, this is a valid expression of the political opinion and agency and therefore should be treated as such in a subsequent refugee claim.