A Bangladeshi couple living in Rimini has been placed under house arrest after allegedly forcing their daughter into marriage in Bangladesh and subjecting her to threats, abuse, and drugs intended to induce pregnancy.
The young woman, now 20, has been taken into protective custody at an undisclosed location.
The family had lived in Italy since 2011, when the mother and daughter joined the father, who had worked as a cook in Rimini since 2008.
Prosecutors say the girl’s parents tricked her into returning to Bangladesh at the end of 2024 with the false pretense of visiting a sick relative. Once there, her parents are accused of confiscating her documents and forcing her into marriage with a wealthy man more than 20 years older than her.
The wedding was held on Dec. 17, 2024. Before and after the ceremony, the girl was allegedly threatened and abused to ensure her compliance. She was also reportedly given medications to promote pregnancy and sedatives to reduce her resistance to sexual intercourse with her husband.
Despite this coercion, the young woman secretly began taking contraceptives. As her situation grew unbearable, she reached out for help through social media, contacting the Rimini health center via Instagram. This led to contact with the authorities in Italy.
She eventually persuaded her mother to accompany her back to Italy, claiming she would feel “more at peace” and ready to have children if she returned.
When the two women landed at Bologna’s Marconi Airport, police officers were waiting to arrest the mother. Corriere di Bologna reports that both parents were arrested following an investigation by the Rimini Prosecutor’s Office.
In July, German authorities were told to expect a spike in forced marriages as schools broke for summer, a time when attempts to return daughters to countries of origin to wed them to favored associates are common.
Speaking on the issue at the time, Seyran Ateş, a prominent author and women’s rights advocate, warns that the problem is becoming greater due to mass immigration and the entrenchment of parallel communities within German society.
“In Germany, we speak of a parallel society of the Muslim community,” Ateş said. Forced marriage, she emphasized, is a mechanism used by “archaic patriarchal societies” to impose religious norms, including the control of female sexuality.
The post Bangladeshi Parents Under House Arrest in Italy for Forced Marriage of Daughter and Drugging Her to Get Pregnant appeared first on American Renaissance.
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