A Tradition Violating Human Right!

She was walking down the street, as usual, in order to complete her daily chores , that included , buying vegetables and the other groceries required. But that day, was not like the usual ones. While she was going back home, a group of boys kidnapped her. Much to her surprise , no one even tried to save her. The people who were seeing the incident were silent , they were just the spectators to her destiny.

This is quite a common sight in areas like Kyrgyzstan, where bride kidnapping is a tradition. Just imagine, bride kidnapping, seriously ? A girl is kidnapped for her wedding and is forced to marryher kidnapper and only after the ceremony is completed , she is taken to her parents for their blessings.

The tradition of bride kidnapping is popularly known as, ala kachuu, which literally means to, take the bride and run away. Though, ala kachuu is prohibited and is considered illegal, stillit is a common way of getting a wife in kyrgyzstan. The procedure basically involves, abducting a young girl by the groom and his friends and kidnapping her , with or without her will. If the marriage is done consensually ,then , it is a mere tradition but if it a non-consensual marriage , the “bride"-"to"-"be" , is forcefully taken to grooms place and is forced to wear a white scarf as a sign to show that, she is agreed for the wedding. After the wedding is complete, in case of non-consensualwedding , the girl is made to visit her parents for their blessings. But , is it right? Why is she forced to be tied in such a relationship, where she does not want get into ? Isn’t it her right to at least know about the one , whom , she was going to marry.

Bride kidnapping often leads to various crimes like rape , to make the girl agreed for the wedding , domestic violence and even her death , as she is not able to bear a child at such a small age. Though, the practice is illegal now , but it is still practiced in various areas. Why is it, that anything done in the name of tradition is right? Doesn’t thatgirl had a life?

In the year 2015, bride kidnapping was taken as a part of thesurvey in kyrgyzstan to see the rate of victimization that occurred , it was observed that, in 14% of bride kidnapping , only two-third were consensual. This tradition, basically started from their national epic, Manas ,where it was the story of a hero. We are living in 21 century , where everyone talks about women empowerment, which as per me , should not be there for the women where there is no need for it , wherethere is already an equality . Instead, it should be done for the women living the country’s where they are just considered as puppets. We should remember that a house can’t be called a home without a lady and so they should be respected , more than she would have expected.

GENDER EQUALITY IS A HUMAN FIGHT AND NOT A FEMALE FIGHT