61 Altogether, it took me 14 days to reach Malaysia from Myanmar—eight days on the boat, three days traveling by boat, and three days walking and driving to Malaysia . . . My husband paid 6,500 Malaysian Ringgit (US$2,000) for all my travel. The mother-in-law also agreed to give 55 grams in gold, but I only received 20 grams in gold when I got here. When my husband earns some money in Malaysia, he should give me the rest of the gold.229 “Kaledah,” 18, traveled to Malaysia after her family arranged for her to marry a Rohingya man who agreed to pay part of her travel costs. She fled her home in Maungdaw Township in Myanmar’s Rakhine State after the Myanmar authorities confiscated her father’s land and severely beat one of her relatives. She told Fortify Rights that she feared Myanmar soldiers might rape her.230 She said: I love my home in Rakhine, but it was difficult to survive there . . . My parents thought it would be better for me to join my brother here in Malaysia. They told me that my brother would find someone for me to marry in Malaysia . . . I didn’t have a choice other than to go to Malaysia.231 When the ship finally disembarked in Thailand, the traffickers transported Kaledah directly to Malaysia and dropped her off in front of a Maybank, where her brother picked her up. She told Fortify Rights: I arrived in Malaysia a week ago [in September 2014]. Before I arrived, my brother arranged for me to marry a friend of his who he met [in Malaysia]. I married my husband on September 14, two days ago. He is 27-years-old and is from the same village as my family. I hadn’t met him before coming to Malaysia. My husband agreed to pay a total of 20 grams of gold for the marriage. He gave me two grams of gold already and still owes 18 grams of gold. He also paid 4,000 Malaysian Ringgit (US$1,200) for my trip, and my brother paid 3,000 Malaysian Ringgit (US$860). Many women from Rakhine are now coming to Malaysia for marriage.232 A Rohingya refugee community leader in Malaysia explained the trend and challenges of marriage within the Rohingya community, saying: There is an increase in women coming for arranged marriages and to escape the situation [in Myanmar’s Rakhine State]. It’s too expensive for Rohingya to get married in Myanmar. Men have to pay to get married. In Myanmar, they have to pay one-million Myanmar Kyat (US$1,000; 3,490 Malaysian Ringgit). Getting permission [from the authorities] to marry in Myanmar is another problem. In Bangladesh, there is a refugee camp that is home mostly to couples that have married or had a child without permission [from Myanmar authorities]. Ninety out of 100 people in this camp are there for that reason. Many times, women don’t want to marry, but divorce is not common. Ninety percent of Rohingya marriages are not for love but are arranged marriages.233 229 Ibid. 230 Fortify Rights interview with #83, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, September 16, 2014. 231 Ibid. 232 Ibid. 233 Fortify Rights interview with #73, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, September 14, 2014.