I didn't have to be there to know that it's patronizing to think that because a woman is young, asian, and not smiling then she's possibly being coerced.
The not smiling bit was just an addition. It was the not saying a word, not making any eye contact with anyone, including her husband.
If, for example, I were in Germany, marrying a German man, without speaking a word of German, you can be sure I would be speaking to my husband in English, telling him what to say, asking what the interviewer were saying. It's hard to imagine someone just sitting by and voluntarily not saying a word when their future is at stake.
And the argument that they might have been married a long time goes against the shyness argument a bit. A woman who has been married for years is usually not too shy to speak to her husband in public.
As for jumping through hoops, I don't mind going though some trouble to be allowed the privilege of living in the UK.
