Violence against women is a cross-cultural phenomenon related to male control of women's sexuality, the relationships between women and property, and economic inequalities between men and women....

Reflective paper on violence against women in Kyrgyzstan
Reflective paper on violence against women in Kyrgyzstan

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Introduction:
Kyrgyzstan is a central Russian province which got independence in 1991. Nothing much was
known about the country till it got independence and the doors of the country was thrown open
to the people of the world. Slowly the customs and traditions came to be recognized by people
There were cases of violence on women and these incidences were shocking.
Bride kidnapping:
This is an ancient custom which is conducted just minutes before the wedding starts. I feel that
this is a shocking practice. The women of the groom’s family hold both the hands of the bride
and get ready to kidnap her. The bride is abducted and she is paid a price by the groom’s party
and then made to marry. Normally the kidnapping is a part of the marriage ritual but the way it is
conducted makes it look and sound horrifying. The bride and the groom are total strangers and
hence whoever pays the ransom gets to marry the girl. I feel that this system is inhuman. The
bride goes to whichever person pays the ransom money to the bride’s family and will be the
groom . It could be anyone, regardless of age and marital status. The bride has no choice but to
accept the marriage as it is very difficult too get girls married. I am dumbstruck and much moved
by this absurd practice. But surprisingly, the women of Kyrgyzstan find this practice to be just
another custom. Girls just laugh it off and try to free themselves but exhausted after an
unsuccessful attempt accept the ceremonial scarf meaning that the girl has accepted to marry.
I wonder as to how a girl could accept to do such a thing as kidnapping and allow for some
stranger to pay the money and marry her.
Reflective paper on violence against women in Kyrgyzstan

2 | P a g e

Bride kidnapping is a wedding custom and a vey widely accepted practice and is illegal in the
country since 1994. This is because of the so many kidnappings that have happened and has led
to the death of the girls. The country is very poor and hence though bride kidnapping is on the
list of reforms, it does not rank high on reforms. I feel that this should be put on the highest
priority because it is violence on the women and world human rights commission and women
welfare associations should set in an put an end to this gory practice.
The barriers to stopping this practice are many. First of all this is a wedding custom and
tradition which has been going on for years and till recently no one bothered about it. Once the
practice came to be known there have been incidences of the kidnapped girl killing herself for
fear of getting married. These cases never get the media attention of ever come to the notice of
the human rights activists. The country does not allow any human rights activists to enter the
country because this is not a human right s issue it is tradition. The country is so poor that
families with girls can’t marry off their girls, if this practice is not done. The gender ratio is very
high and so the girl’s parents have no choice but to allow this practice to go on.
One cannot think of hurting customs culture and religious sentiments. I would never imagine
what the girls would be going through. The word kidnapping is negative and associated with a
very bad practice. How could girls be kidnapped and then married off? It seems a totally
inhuman practice.
The kidnapping of the bride is similar to the date rape in the USA because the brides know what ...