Equality Now Asks Kyrgyzstan to Stop Bride Kidnapping
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November 10, 2011 TheFreshOutlook  |
A human rights organisation has recently called on the government of Kyrgyzstan to end the illegal practice of ‘bride kidnapping’.
Equality Now, an international human rights organisation that protects and promotes women’s rights around the world, has called on the Kyrgyz government to stop the practice of bride kidnapping.
According to Equality Now, each year an estimated 11,500 t 16,500 girls are abducted to become brides in the central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan.
Despite the practice of bride kidnapping being illegal under the Kyrgyz Criminal Code, criminal justice agencies often fail to enforce the law.
Last year two young women committed suicide in the Issyk-Kul Province following their abduction and forced marriage. Equality Now, which has been working with local groups on this issue, has asked for public action this week, calling on the Kyrgyz government to prosecute kidnappers and guarantee victim protection through medical, social and legal services.
“The Kyrgyz government must take a zero tolerance approach, ensuring that the law against bride kidnapping is strenuously enforced and that victims have access to medical, legal and social support. It is intolerable that women live in fear of being snatched and must endure a life of sexual violence and domestic servitude. Women are not possessions and must be free to make their own choices,” said Anber Raz, programme officer for sexual violence and trafficking, speaking exclusively to The Fresh Outlook.
Equality Now’s Women’s Action Network includes over 30,000 groups and individual members in more than 160 different countries. For more information, please visit www.equalitynow.org .
By Rosaria Sgueglia
[Image courtesy of jensm]
