Bride kidnapping rape

1. In Kyrgystan, tradition is above religion. (17:50) 2. In Kyrgystan, religion is above law. (17:50) 3. In Kyrgystan, tradition is above law. (17:50) 4. Kidnapping is an old tradition that those--men and women--living in rural communities throughout Kyrgystan accept and practice. (3:34) 5. Even when acknowledging the criminal act that is kidnapping, kidnappers and other community members use only the term "kidnapping" to describe the act or practice--the word rape is never used. (4:48) 6. When woman is in the car, though she is frantic, she does not experience any sexual advances--neither wanted nor unwanted. (13:12) 7. When in the car, woman is never physically harmed by any of the men. (13:19) 8. In tradition of bride kidnapping, male"s family seeks woman"s consent to marriage. (12:45) 9. Essentially, the kidnapped bride has the technical ability to reject the entire kidnapping and subsequent marriage. (14:55) 10. Woman is asked to accept the marriage. (14:54) 11. Therefore, woman is aware that she possesses the ability to make a meaningful choice in the situation. (14:59) 12. Kidnapper"s family offers kidnapped bride to accept the scarf of marriage. (14:53) 13. Scarf of marriage is a metaphor for the process that is the proposal and marriage. (14:54) 14. Kidnapped bride is aware of what the scarf entails. (14:53) 15. Kidnapped bride is thereby aware of the implications of her decision to accept--or reject--the scarf. (14:53) 16. Kidnapped bride accepts the scarf of marriage. (15:42) 17. Non-consensual force is defined as a woman"s will to resist. (163.1.1-3) 18. The kidnapped bride obviously does not resist when she exercises her ability to make a decision and ultimately decides to accept the kidnapping. (15:44) 19. Additionally, non-consensual force requires that the woman or victim risk bodily harm as an expression of her will to resist. (165.1) 20. Even as the kidnapper"s family urged the kidnapped bride to accept the proposal, the woman did not face or risk bodily harm. (15:43) 21. Tradition requires that kidnapped bride"s family also provide consent in order for the actual proposal and marriage to be validated. (21:30) 22. Kidnapped bride"s family does provide consent. (22:23) 23. Proposal and marriage are, therefore, valid. (26:09) 24. Kidnapped bride has sex with the kidnapper only after consenting to the marriage. (30:35) 25. Kidnapped bride, like other women in the community, are taught from an early age that virginity is something to be valued. (30:47) 26. Tradition requires that a woman have sex only after marriage, with her groom, hence the purpose of the public sheet-hanging with a woman"s blood after she and the groom have consummated the marriage. (30:36) 27. Kidnapped bride"s groom hangs the sheet with the kidnapped bride"s blood on it, signifying not only that the kidnapped bride has had sex with him, but that she was a virgin prior to the sex.(30:54) 28. These traditions, practices and beliefs are all indicative of a patriarchal society. (29:05) 29. Women, including kidnapped bride, accept patriarchal ideals. (29:09) 30. Evidence that the kidnapped bride accepts patriarchal ideals is that she was a virgin prior to having sex with her new groom.(30:54) 31. Considering that the kidnapped bride lives in and accepts these patriarchal ideals, she would only have sex with her groom.(27:10) 32. By engaging in sex with the kidnapper, the kidnapped bride is expressing her idea of their relationship: that they are a married couple. (30:55) 33. The kidnapped bride consents to the sex by consenting to the marriage and accepting her position as the wife--not victim--of the kidnapper. (31:00) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 34. Therefore, the kidnapper is not guilty of having raped the kidnapped bride. If the essential distinction between rape and non-rape is consent, then this particular example of the kidnapped bride serves to underscore that distinction in cases where societal norms and traditions are seemingly bizarre to others. The kidnapped bride is obviously aware of the kidnapping traditions and understands the implications of the kidnapping, the scarf proposal, and the consummation of the marriage. Likewise, her family, too, is aware of the kidnapping tradition and the role they play in this tradition. Ultimately, whether or not either party holds a favorable position of the tradition is not the question; the true question is whether or not both parties, with the knowledge of the tradition and patriarchal ideals, consent to the proposal, marriage, and the subsequent sex. In this particular case, both parties consent to all three crucial phases of the marriage process. Whilst an underlying problem lies in the patriarchal ideals or framework that dictate the societal norms and traditions, criminalizing an act that is otherwise accepted by the two primary parties engaged in it would require applying an irrelevant interpretation to a system that functions on its own ideals and traditions.