In Kazakhstan, penalties for so-called bride kidnapping will be toughened, with the local parliament working on changes to laws to end what is now considered an outdated practice.
Almost every young woman in Kazakhstan is well aware that she too can become a victim of bride kidnapping. If this happens to a young woman, it impacts any personal plans she may have for the future.
Gulmira K., a nurse from Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city. Same thing happened with. Gulmira, who did not want her full name used in the media, was abducted when she was 19 years old.
“This was about 20 years ago,” he told DW. “I was studying in Almaty and was walking home from university in the evening. A car stopped, three men jumped out and grabbed me, and threw me in the back seat, then threw a blanket over me. Two of them were next to me. and after two hours, I was in a house in a village where the women immediately laid a white cloth over me, as tradition says they should, I could not free myself and shortly afterwards I lay down in front of my future Met my husband, whom I have never seen before That very day he took away my virginity,” Gulmira said.
Gulmira was able to contact her parents only a week ago. But the help he expected was not coming.
“My father only said that I was to blame for everything. He said that I had disgraced the whole family and he did not want to see me again. So I became the wife of a man whose family could barely survive. My parents, on the other hand, were well off,” she said.
30 years of complaints
It took Gulmira nine years to escape the marriage into which she was forced. “At that time, I already had two children,” she said. “I unexpectedly met a school friend in a clinic and told her my story. She advised me to go back to Almaty with the children, I did so. Later, she helped me get through a divorce and then find a job. He Said, “My ex-husband was not very upset. But if bride kidnapping had been a criminal offense at that time – something that is being discussed now – my life would have been different.”
The punishment for kidnapping for the purpose of non-consensual marriage has actually been debated in Kazakhstan since the mid-1990s. Human rights activists have been complaining that those involved in bride kidnapping cases have never been held accountable for nearly 30 years.
Article 125 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan states that kidnapping is punishable by four to seven years in prison. Article 125 also states that, if the abductor should free the victim, they may escape justice. This loophole has gone unnoticed by the authorities and encourages criminals to pretend to “free” the women they have abducted and forced to marry. The first ray of hope that this legal situation would change came in August, 2023. Kazakhstan’s human rights commissioner Artur Lastayev announced a draft law, which his office has worked on, that would make bride kidnapping a crime in its own right.
“We have asked the Attorney General to prepare a separate list of crimes that can be distinguished from those to which Article 125 applies,” Lastayev told reporters in the Kazakhstan capital, Astana. “Draft [law] “Based on the experiences of our neighboring countries and the recommendations of the United Nations.”
slow progress
Despite the fact that the Attorney General agreed to support the initiative, nothing happened. Six months later, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stepped down.
“There are people in our country who are allegedly carrying out bride kidnapping under the guise of a national tradition,” Tokayev said. “This cannot be justified in any way. It contradicts the ideals of a progressive society in which the dignity, rights and freedoms of every human being are absolute values.”
Murat Abenov, a member of parliament from the ruling Amanat party, told DW that if the president had not said this, it was highly unlikely that the topic would have been on the national agenda again.
“There are too many people in our law enforcement agencies who tolerate these distortions of tradition,” said Abenov, who has been pushing for tougher penalties for bride kidnapping for years.
In fact, in its current form, bride kidnapping – which is widespread in the south and west of the country and sometimes occurs in other cities such as the capital Astana and Almaty – historically did not exist in this country, Abenov explained. .
“In the Middle Ages, the kidnapping of women was permitted only during military campaigns, as trophies,” he adds. “The kidnapping of girls from non-warring families was considered a very serious crime, punishable by death.”
Most cases never reach court
Human Rights Commissioner Lastayev wants to add an additional article – Article 125-1 – to the Criminal Code. This would mean that kidnapping for the purpose of forced marriage could result in a prison sentence of up to three years.
“If the victim is underage, the punishment is up to five years. If the victim suffers serious consequences due to kidnapping, the punishment is up to 10 years,” Abenov said. Rape will be punished as a separate crime.
Abenov is convinced that if the law were implemented, the number of reports of bride kidnapping would increase significantly.
“Over the past three years, there have been 214 official cases, but I know there have been many more attempts to file cases. Only 10 cases were brought before a judge. All the rest – that is, 93% – due to lack of evidence Were removed,” she said.
Lawyer and human rights activist Khalida Azhigulova complains that the state has also failed to educate people about the law. This is especially true for areas where bride kidnapping occurs.
“Our youth do not learn enough about human rights, not in schools or universities,” he told DW. “They don’t know enough about marriage or family law. Since 2011, marriage can only be concluded after the free and unconditional consent of both partners.”
Azhigulova supports Abenov’s working group, which is working on tougher laws for bride kidnapping. But he also has high expectations from the youth of Kazakhstan, who are increasingly rejecting this custom.
This story was originally published in Russian.
