Caravanserai

Poll shows Kyrgyz youth familiar with bride kidnapping

Caravanserai

BISHKEK -- A poll among Kyrgyz youth showed that 50.1% of respondents have personally encountered bride kidnapping for the purpose of forced marriage, 24.kg reported Monday (September 10).

Of those polled, 42% said they had witnessed the phenomenon more than once among their relatives and acquaintances. Another 6.1% said they had participated in kidnapping a bride and 2% said they were among those kidnapped, according to the Kyrgyz National Institute for Strategic Studies poll.

Another 46.1% of respondents said they had never witnessed bride kidnapping.

Asked whether they consider the act a crime, 87% said yes, but 6.4% expressed "support" and called it a "tradition and custom".

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan has launched a hotline, 1146, where women can report domestic violence, Fergana News reported Monday (September 10), quoting a Facebook post by Deputy Prime Minister Tanzila Narbayeva.

The hotline is still being tested. It will help callers escape their difficult position and receive psychological, legal and medical help, she said.

Do you like this article?

0 Comment(s)

Comment Policy * Denotes Required Field 1500 / 1500