*All names of victims have been changed in order to protect their identities 

In 2009, on her way home from university, Vulkan was abducted by a man who wanted her for his wife and imprisoned in his house. When she tried to escape, a female relative of the “groom” threatened that she would be cursed if she dared step over the threshold to leave. Vulkan now reluctantly lives with her abductor as his wife, having been forced to give up university and any thought of a job, and is determined never to allow any sons she may have to kidnap a bride.

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There are an estimated 11,500-16,500 girls kidnapped to become brides every year in Kyrgyzstan. Research on bride kidnapping carried out in 2010 by women’s NGO Public Foundation Open Line found that over 50% of the 268 women interviewed had never seen their kidnapper prior to the abduction and that 81% of  kidnappings ended in marriage. 74.2% of the women surveyed stated that pressure, including threats and violence, was exerted on them by the kidnapper and his family to force them to stay. 23% of women revealed that they had been raped before marriage. One respondent was determined to report the kidnapping to the police after escaping, but was abducted again and raped by the kidnapper, which forced her to accept the marriage.

Culturally, the stigma attached to an unmarried girl spending a night with a man (whether or not there is rape) is too much for both victims of bride kidnapping and their parents, and many reluctantly agree to the marriage. Ainura, kidnapped in 2010, was told by her mother “you must stay here otherwise you dishonor me and yourself.”  Some parents agree to accept money and gifts from the kidnapper in exchange for a promise not to go to the police. For some victims, the kidnapping and subsequent forced marriage is too much to bear. Tragically, in 2010, two young women committed suicide in Issyk-Kul Province after being kidnapped and forced into marriage.

Aziza’s husband succeeded in his third attempt to kidnap her. He regularly raped and beat her and prevented her from leaving the house or seeing her family. Ready to commit suicide, she finally managed to escape only to be found by her husband who publicly beat her and left her naked in the street, threatening to sell her into slavery. Aziza currently lives with her mother and brother.

Bride kidnapping is a form of violence against women. It violates women and girls’ rights to bodily integrity, freedom of movement and freedom from violence. It leads to forced marriage and often repeated rape, servitude and denial of educational and other opportunities.

Article 13 (4) of Kyrgyzstan’s constitution guarantees that “men and women have equal rights and freedoms and equal opportunities for their realization” and under the Kyrgyz Criminal Code, it is an offense to force a woman into marriage or to kidnap a woman for a marriage against her will. Such crimes can result in up to five years’ imprisonment. However, criminal justice agencies, including the police, prosecutors and judges, often view bride kidnapping as a culturally protected Kyrgyz tradition, and they fail to enforce the law. Women’s rights activists have found that where a complaint is registered with the police, investigating officials have been known to frequently discontinue or delay the process in order to ensure the case does not reach court. Victims have reported that investigators often take bribes from the accused to pressure the victim to withdraw her complaint. Societal pressures and threats from the kidnapper and his family also mean that victims are often too afraid to report a kidnapping. There are no government programs to publicize the law or to provide legal advice to affected women. This is particularly crucial in rural areas where most cases of bride kidnapping occur and where few are aware of or can access their rights.

Kyrgyzstan ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1997. Article 5(a) of CEDAW calls on State parties to: “modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women.” In its general recommendation No. 19 on violence against women, the CEDAW Committee, which reviews government compliance with CEDAW, specifically mentioned forced marriage and rape stating that “The effect of such violence on the physical and mental integrity of women is to deny them the equal enjoyment, exercise and knowledge of human rights and fundamental freedoms.”  In its examination of Kyrgyzstan in 2008, the CEDAW Committee expressed its serious concern at the “continuing existence of bride abduction, despite its prohibition in the law” and “that this practice results in forced marriages, in contradiction to Article 16 of the Convention.”

Under the Article 23 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Kyrgyzstan is also a signatory, “no marriage shall be entered into without the free and full consent of the intending spouses.” The Human Rights Committee, in its general comment No. 28 on equality of rights between men and women, identified women’s right to free and informed consent in marriage as an element of women’s right to equality.

Dear ____ :

I write to you with deep concern regarding the practice of bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan, which violates women and girls’ rights to bodily integrity, freedom of movement and freedom from violence.

I was concerned to learn that an estimated 11,500-16,500 incidents of bride kidnapping occur a year in Kyrgyzstan. I realize that bride kidnapping is an offense under Kyrgyz law, however it is my understanding that very few cases have ever reached court and been successfully prosecuted. Victims lack knowledge about their rights and where to go for help and often cases are not properly investigated. It is my understanding that many, including within the criminal justice system, regard bride kidnapping as a Kyrgyz tradition and as such culturally protected. The fact that relatives and friends of the kidnapper and those performing marriage ceremonies are not prosecuted under the law further entrenches social acceptability of this crime.

I respectfully urge you to ensure that cases of bride kidnapping are fully investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law in keeping with Kyrgyzstan’s own Constitution which guarantees equality under the law and with its international obligations including under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. I understand also there is strong support among Kyrgyz women for a public awareness campaign on this grave abuse and I hope your government will heed their call to take this matter seriously and do all that it can to prevent bride kidnapping from happening. In order to support the women subjected to or at risk of kidnapping, I further urge you to champion the demand for strengthening the current law against bride kidnapping by making amendments to guarantee protection of victims and provide them access to medical, social and legal services; and to introduce a separate liability for relatives and/or friends who are complicit in bride kidnapping.

Thank you for your attention.

Respectfully yours,