Bride kidnapping, also known as marriage by abduction or marriage by capture, is a form of marriage practiced in a few traditional cultures, in countries spanning Central Asia, the Caucasus region, parts of Africa, and among the Hmong in southeast Asia. In most countries, bride kidnapping is considered a sex crime, rather than a valid form of marriage. However, some versions of it may also be seen as falling along the continuum between forced marriage and arranged marriage.
This was recorded December 2006 in Nazram, in Russia’s Ingushetia Republic. A young lady was kidnapped from her place of work by a group of men. Her co-workers were unsuccessful at rescuing her and, apparently, the police haven’t had any luck either.
Bride snatching is an increasingly common occurrence in Ingushetia, Chechnya, Georgia, and has been reported with more frequency in Russia itself, too.
Strangely enough, a lot of these kidnapped brides remain married to their ‘abductors’ years after the fact.
This post was written by bullets on December 16, 2007
