page_title: Bride kidnapping
section_title: Central Asia
hierarchical_section_title: Bride kidnapping / Central Asia
context_page_description: Bride kidnapping, also known as bridenapping, marriage by abduction or marriage by capture, is a practice in which a man abducts the woman he wishes to marry.
  Bride kidnapping has been practiced around the world and throughout prehistory and history, among peoples as diverse as the Hmong in Southeast Asia, the Tzeltal in Mexico, the Romani in Europe, and tribes in the Amazon jungle. Bride kidnapping still occurs in various parts of the world, but it is most common in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
  In most nations, bride kidnapping is considered a sex crime rather than a valid form of marriage. Some types of it may also be seen as falling along the continuum between forced marriage and arranged marriage. The term is sometimes confused with elopements, in which a couple runs away together and seeks the consent of their parents later. In some cases, the woman cooperates with the kidnapping, typically in an effort to save face for herself or her parents. Even when the practice is against the law, judicial enforcement remains lax in some areas. Bride kidnapping is often a form of child marriage.
context_section_description: In Central Asia, bride kidnapping exists in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan. Though origin of the tradition in the region is disputed, the rate of nonconsensual bride kidnappings appears to be increasing in several countries throughout Central Asia as the political and economic climate changes.
caption: Map of Central Asia
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