WUNRN
KYRGYZSTAN - BRIDE KIDNAPPING
PREVALENT
One-Third of All Kyrgyzstan
Brides Are Considered
to Have Been Kidnapped by Their
Future Husbands.
November 21, 2010
Picture shows Kyrgyz women who
had suffered a kidnapping taking part in a round-table discussion on bride
kidnapping in the eastern city of
The custom of bride kidnapping, which began with rival clans
stealing and forcing marriage on each others’ women, has grown into a large
social problem in
Some young men in this Central Asian state take to heart the well-known Kyrgyz
saying, “A good marriage starts with tears.”
Especially in the rural areas of
Babayarova herself managed to escape after being kidnapped for marriage by her
boyfriend. Now, she works to help other victims.
One case documented by Babayarova involved a woman named
Gulzat, who was kidnapped at the age of 18 and forced to marry her neighbor, a
boy she hardly knew.
Speaking to Babayarova 10 years after the abduction, Gulzat said: “I felt
something was wrong. Suddenly two cars came back. In the bright lights I
couldn’t see anything, but I understood that they had come to kidnap me.
Horrified I started screaming. Two of the boys closed my mouth with their hands
and carried me into the car. I was screaming, yelling, crying, shouting,
kicking, hitting … but boys were too strong.”
In an instant, Gulzat said, her dreams of becoming a journalist and marrying
her boyfriend were shattered. The kidnappers stuffed her into their car and
took her to the house of her abductor's uncle. Gulzat refused to leave the car,
hugging the front seat tightly until her captors forced her into the house.
Inside, a group of 10–15 women were waiting to pressure her to agree to a
marriage.
The role of these groups of women is to apply social and psychological pressure
to persuade the kidnapped girl to sign a letter of consent indicating free will
to marry. These persuasion sessions can last for hours. In up to 92 percent of
the cases, the bride gives in and marries her abductor, says Russel Kleinbach,
professor of sociology at the
Social Pressure
The fear of shame and rejection from their families and
community elders can be intense for young Kyrgyz girls, and they have to be
very strong to be able to resist the pressure. In most cases, parents of the kidnapped
girls agree to the marriage out of fear of public ostracization. If the
abducted girl refuses to marry, she faces social isolation because she is
considered no longer pure. Even if she succeeds in escaping the unwanted
marriage, her chances for another happier marriage are most likely ruined.
Gulzat agreed to marry her abducting neighbor Azamat. As a result, an imam was
immediately brought to the house to bless the marriage with the Islamic Sharia
law.
Ten years later, Gulzat is still married to Azamat and they have a son. She
indicated feeling very sad about the marriage and said that she and her husband
“still treat each other like strangers,” according to Babayarova.
Another case documented by Babayarova was that of a 19-year-old girl in south
Her suicide note said: “Tell my dad I am still a virgin. I hope I am leaving
for a peaceful place.”
The social pressure to marry is not only applied to girls. The parents of young
men sometimes push their sons to abduct a girl because it’s cheaper than a
formal courtship or because they are in need of an extra person to work in the
household.
Many boys also see bride kidnapping as part of Kyrgyz culture, and some even
help others to kidnap would-be brides. Sometimes the boys feel proud about
kidnapping a girl and say that it is a show of manhood, Babayarova noted.
If a man fails to marry his kidnapped bride, he too faces social stigma. In one
incident, a boy kidnapped three girls, but failed to marry any of them. He then
committed suicide in shame.
According to Babayarova, bride kidnappings have become more violent in recent
years.
Girl Shelters
Although bride kidnapping is common in
The government has taken no actions to counter the problem
of bride kidnapping, however, and some non-profit organizations have taken the
task upon themselves.
The Kyz-Kogon Institute, a shelter for kidnapped girls established in 2005,
organizes seminars and distributes brochures with legal information on the
prohibition of bride kidnapping, myths about traditional customs, and contact
information for crisis centers. The shelter also informs parents and potential
abductors that kidnapping is illegal and encourages parents not to advocate
forced marriages to their children.
Kleinbach told The Epoch Times that a study he conducted in 2008–2009 in
cooperation with Babayarova and Nuraiym Orozobekova, an educational project
assistant from the U.S. Agency for International Development, showed a
40-percent reduction in non-consensual marriages after the population and local
authorities in 10 villages had been informed that bride kidnapping was illegal.