Bride kidnapping in post-Soviet Kazakhstan: approval of violence against women in the context of culture

Abstract

The well-known custom of marriage by bride-kidnapping has returned to the spotlight in recent years in many societies of Central Asian countries. According to both official and unofficial statistics, the number of such marriages significantly declined during the Soviet era compared to earlier times, but it increased once more in the years following the independence of the former Soviet republics. The common belief that a woman should "stay" in the house after being kidnapped is supported by strong shame-based arguments towards the victim. This thesis uses cultural discourses about honour and tradition to explain shifting marriage customs and to identify reasons for the prevalence of bride abduction among Kazakhs as well as its legal regulation in international instruments. The main objective of the research is to answer the question of why the bride kidnapping tradition is still prevalent in the modern society of Kazakhstan and how it is an issue of women’s rights violation under the Istanbul Convention. This thesis analyzes the practice of the bride-kidnapping tradition in Central Asia focusing specifically on Kazakhstan as a case study. The empirical part of the research will be based on in-depth interviews and participant observation during my fieldwork in the country of research. The outcome of the research contributes to the understanding of what keeps the practice alive in the modern-day and what the circumstances and consequences of the practice are.