UK teen forced to marry Pak cousin at gunpoint, raped 'every night' for 3 yrs

Islamabad: In a horrifying incident, a British teenager has revealed how she was forced to marry her cousin at gunpoint while she was on a vacation to Pakistan three years ago and was brutally raped everyday.

Identified as Tabassan Khan (named changed to protect identity), the 15-year-old was living with her aunt in Doncaster, UK, before going on a summer vacation to Pakistan.

However, when the victim arrived in Pakistan, she was forced to marry her elder cousin at gunpoint and was held captive by him for three years.

She later discovered that the marriage was a sabotage planned by her cousin so that he could claim a spouse visa and go to Britain.

"I thought I was going to Pakistan on holiday. I was excited. Then two months passed and it was time to start the school year. I asked my uncle when I should go back and he just kept saying, ‘Stay a bit longer’ for weeks. After four months, he came up to my room with a gun and told me I had to marry my cousin," the victim was quoted as saying in Sunday Express report.

“I kept refusing, but he told me that if I didn’t do it he would kill my brothers. I was terrified but felt I had no choice. On my wedding night my cousin raped me. I thought my cousins were family. It felt so wrong. He raped me every night for three years. I felt I was a sex worker, stuck in that room. I was ashamed,” said Tabassan.

"In Muslim culture the girl is supposed to do as she is told. The backward people from villages in Pakistan think they can do what they want with us. Our lives mean nothing. We are just a way to get a visa. They will do anything to get someone over here. If they’ve family abroad, they gain respect," she added.