Kyrgyzstan - Central Asia - page 295

THE¨KIDNAPPED¨BRIDE
Kyrgyz men have a way of sweeping a woman of her feet - of her feet and into a wait-
ing car. Ditinctively Kyrgyz, ala kachuu (bride kidnapping) is a very hands-on way to
ind a wife. There is some dispute as to how 'traditional' the practice is and it's oicially
illegal, but it's once again on the upswing, with some villages apparently seeing a ma-
jority of marriages tarting with an abduction. Many locals say the practice is a reas-
sertion of national identity. Others point to the rising cot of wedding celebrations and
the expense of the traditional 'bride price'. If both sides tacitly agree, a well-executed
abduction can in fact prove a clever way to dramatically slash wedding cots. But not all
ala kachuu grabs are quaint money-saving devices. In the case of a genuine kidnap, the
woman does till have the right to refuse if she can sutain hours of haranguing by the
groom-thief's female family members, who attempt to make her wear a symbolic bridal
headscarf. But often she'll succumb, fearing an implied shame or worse if she refuses:
according to human rights campaigners Restless¨Beings (www.retlessbeings.org), over
20% of non-consentual abductions result in 'rape and sexual torture'. And the girl's
family, once contacted, often pressure her to agree to the marriage.
The issue of ala kachuu came to the fore with the 2007 Kyrgyz movie Boz Salkyn .
In English, there are several enlightening online documentaries notably by Petr¨Lom
(www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/tories/kyrgyztan) and Thomas¨Morton (www.youtube.com/
watch?v=DKAusMNTNnk) showing real-life kidnap tories.

ripples in southern Kyrgyzstan, where local
politicians saw the changes as an attempt to
weaken their position. When a 'power grab'
by Bakiev loyalists in Jalal-Abad was coun-
tered by a local militia consisting partly of
ethnic Uzbeks, the result was an explosion
of politicised riots which culminated in the
June 2010 Osh riots. While the exact cir-
cumstances remain highly controversial, the
result was over 400 deaths (74% of these Uz-
beks) and more than 100,000 ethnic Uzbeks
fleeing, at least temporarily, to Uzbekistan.

The Bakiev Era
Bakiev's first term in office was hardly a bed
of tulips. The one-time opposition leader
soon faced the same criticisms levelled at
his predecessor - corruption and abuse of
power. Wide-scale street demonstrations in
2006 and 2007 forced him into concessions
that curbed his presidential power. Bakiev's
promises of peace and security were also de-
railed by a spate of high-profile political as-
sassinations - three members of parliament
were murdered in the late 2000s.
Bakiev was re-elected in July 2009 amid
widespread accusations of ballot rigging
and media censure. Voters, unable to unseat
Bakiev with the ballot, reverted to a tried
and true method of overthrowing Kyrgyz
leaders - revolution. On 6 and 7 April 2010,
opposition crowds massed in Talas and
Bishkek. What was intended to be a dem-
onstration against the government turned
into a riot in both cities. Security forces were
overwhelmed and the protestors stormed
the halls of government. By the end of the
day some 88 people had been killed and
more than 500 injured in the fighting.
Bakiev fled, first to southern Kyrgyzstan,
then Kazakhstan and finally to Belarus. The
Kyrgyz opposition set up an interim gov-
ernment with Roza Otombayeva as its new
leader. While many in Bishkek saw Bakiev's
overthrow as positive in the fight against
corruption, his removal caused serious

People
Of approximately 80 ethno-linguistic groups
in Kyrgyzstan, the main trio are:
¨ Kyrgyz: 66%
¨ Uzbek: 14%
¨ Russian: 10%
Notable minorities include Ukrainians,
Uyghurs and Dungans (Hui Muslims origi-
nally from China).
Since 1989 there has been a major exodus
of Slavs and Germans, but Kyrgyz (along
with Kazakhs) remain probably the most
Russified Central Asian people. Russian
remains the lingua franca in Bishkek and
northern Kyrgyzstan, but is less commonly
spoken in the south. About one fifth of work-
ing adults are overseas, sending home remit-
tances, most notably from Russia.