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20-Year-Old Boxer Faces Deportation to Iraq, Fears Forced Marriage

Key Points
  • Vanas Azad, 20, faces deportation to Iraq after living in Sweden for seven years.
  • She is a boxer who trains children at BK 30 boxing club in Motala and fears she would have to give up the sport if deported.
  • Azad claims she would be forced into marriage if returned to Iraq, according to her statements to Migrationsverket.

Vanas Azad, a 20-year-old resident of Motala, Sweden, has reportedly been ordered deported to Iraq by the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket), according to local media reports. Azad, who arrived in Sweden at age 14 with her mother to join her father who was already living there, has spent seven years building a life in the country.

Azad is reportedly an active boxer and trains children at the BK 30 boxing club in Motala. She has expressed concerns that if deported to Iraq, she would be forced to give up boxing, as she claims women are not allowed to box there. More urgently, Azad has stated that she fears being forced into marriage if returned to Iraq.

As I said at the meeting with Migrationsverket, I will be forced into marriage if I go back

Vanas Azad

"As I said at the meeting with Migrationsverket, I will be forced into marriage if I go back," Azad was quoted as saying in a report by Östgöta Correspondenten.

According to the report, Azad's parents received permanent residence permits when she turned 19, but she herself was notified of her deportation order. The case highlights the complex situations faced by young adults in Sweden's immigration system, particularly when family members receive different immigration statuses.

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