BRIDE KIDNAPPING: A GROWING PROBLEM IN KYRGYZSTAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 000317

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN (GEHRENBECK)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KG
SUBJECT: BRIDE KIDNAPPING: A GROWING PROBLEM IN KYRGYZSTAN

BISHKEK 00000317 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Amb. Marie L. Yovanovitch, Reason 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Ambassador gathered influential NGO
leaders, government officials, and members of parliament to
discuss the best course of action to put an end to the
practice of bride kidnapping. Local media and NGOs report
that bride kidnapping, though illegal, is on the rise in
Kyrgyzstan. While some still try to justify the practice as
a "tradition" embedded in the local culture, cases of bride
kidnapping can involve rape, forced marriage, mental anguish
and depression for the victim, and, in extreme cases,
suicide. END SUMMARY.

A TRADITION . . .
--------------


2. (SBU) NGOs and university researchers report that the
incidence of bride kidnapping is on the rise in Kyrgyzstan.
While the Criminal Code specifically prohibits forced
marriage, there are few, if any, reports of police
enforcement of the provision. Primarily practiced among the
ethnic Kyrgyz communities, bride kidnapping is the act of
abducting a young female for the purpose of marrying her to
the principal abductor. A 2004 Human Rights Watch report
claimed that approximately 40 per cent of women in cities and
60-80 per cent of women in villages had been kidnapped. The
pressure by parents to marry and start a family, the
financial burden of paying the full dowry, and the desire to
continue a Kyrgyz tradition are among the many reasons given
to justify the act.


3. (SBU) In a typical case of bride kidnapping, a young man
deemed ready for marriage chooses one of several possible
brides to kidnap, often without ever meeting them. Then, the
groom and a group of his male friends and relatives stalk and
capture an unsuspecting victim, whisk her back to their home,
and hold her captive. The groom's female relatives attempt
to convince the girl to stay and marry the young man, often
using psychological coercion or physical force. Typically,
the victim's parents are summoned and asked for their
consent. Her parents may agree to the terms and force their
daughter to stay or refuse and extract her from the hostile
environment. Due to cultural norms and community pressure,
it is rare for families to allow the victim to return home.


4. (SBU) There are also cases of mock abduction, staged
between consenting adults to avoid a high "kalym" or dowry
price or as a form of elopement. Traditionally, courting
males negotiate a price with parents for their daughter's
hand in marriage. When he cannot afford the expensive kalym,
the groom may abduct a consenting bride, thus starting the
marriage process and leaving her parents with limited
bargaining powers to demand a higher dowry. In cases in
which the parents do not approve, young couples may arrange a
mock abduction as a form of elopement.

. . . WITH SEVERE CONSEQUENCES FOR THE VICTIMS
-------------- -


5. (SBU) The consequences for victims of bride kidnapping --
abducted from her school, workplace, or home and held against
her will until she submits to the demands of her captors to
marry an acquaintance or complete stranger -- can be severe,
both physically and psychologically. Gazbubu Babaiarova, a
research associate at the American University of Central
Asia, described the most extreme of cases involving the
abduction of underage girls, rape by the abductors, and
victims committing suicide. Babaiarova told Poloff that the
average age of girls kidnapped is 14-17 years old, but she
knew of cases involving girls as young as twelve, usually in
rural areas. She stated that many of the victims claim to
have been raped, sometimes before consenting to marriage,
making it nearly impossible to back out of the arrangement.
During the last three years of her research, Babaiarova said

BISHKEK 00000317 002.2 OF 002


that she had seen numerous cases of kidnap victims, feeling
trapped and psychologically distraught, seeing suicide as
their only way out. This often happens when parents of the
victim consent to the arrangement or will not accept her back
into their home once she has escaped a captor out of shame
for the family, leaving her no other options.

WHAT CAN BE DONE?
--------------


6. (SBU) On March 4, the Ambassador gathered members of the
international and local community to discuss ways to reverse
the growing trend and end the practice of bride kidnapping.
International donors, leaders of local NGOs, government
officials such as the chairwoman of the constitutional court,
parliamentarians, and local prosecutors, discussed the
history of the tradition and how it has evolved into the
current situation. Babaiarova, who travels the country
conducting workshops to educate communities about the
psychological impact of bride kidnapping on young women and
the importance of protecting women's rights, emphatically
stated that there is no truth that bride kidnapping is an
ancient Kyrgyz tradition and briefed the group about her
latest research on the growing trend. Participants proposed
amendments to the current laws to allow for more specific
protection against bride kidnapping, a unified campaign to
educate the population about the detrimental effect on women,
additional support to shelters housing and protecting
victims, and widespread training for police officers,
prosecutors, and judges to ensure that law prohibiting the
act is upheld and women's rights are protected.

COMMENT
--------------


7. (C) While some may be reluctant to "meddle" in a tradition
apparently embedded in local culture, the participants in the
Ambassador's roundtable agreed on the scope of the problem
and the need to take action. The Regional Representative of
the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
agreed to hold the next working group with the goal of
devising strategies and developing a plan of action to
protect women's rights and prevent future tragedies
associated with bride kidnapping. Peace Corps is developing
bride kidnapping kits for each volunteer, so that PCVs can
educate villagers at the grass roots level on the harmful
effects of this practice. In addition, USAID is reviewing
how a bride kidnapping component can be incorporated into
appropriate programs. Post also believes that bride
kidnapping meets the definition of Trafficking in Persons and
should be looked at in this light. Post will continue to
follow this issue and investigate ways to assist the NGO
community and the government in protecting the rights of
women.
LITZENBERGER