Kazakhstan "Stealing the Bride"

By
Chris Perez 

nypost.com

A “Borat”-style bride kidnapping was caught on tape in his home
country of Kazakhstan — where taking a woman to be your lawfully wedded
hostage is a very real and widely accepted custom.



Disturbing video footage titled “Stealing the Bride” shows a girl in
the central Akmola region screaming and crying as she is dragged to the
home of her future husband, Central European News reports.

Even
though bride kidnapping is a widely accepted custom in Kazakhstan, the
bride in “Stealing the Bride” clearly does not want any part of the
tradition.Photo: Europics

The scene has all the makings of a traditional marriage ceremony
— Kazakh music, a special bridal carpet and loads of confetti being
thrown in celebration.


But instead of a blushing bride-to-be enjoying her big day, the
shocking video shows a frightened girl being seized from her home and
forced into marrying someone against her will.

The young bride is dragged kicking and screaming into her future husband’s house.Photo: Europics

Forcibly seizing a woman and marrying her is very common in Kazakhstan, according to CEN.


The shocking deed was jokingly made famous by Sacha Baron Cohen in
his 2006 hit, “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit
Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.” In the movie, Borat kidnaps Pamela
Anderson because he wants to marry her — a scene which is meant to be
ridiculous and funny, but is also very accurate and startling.

Modal Trigger

While the bride-to-be screams, her tormentors calmly record the entire thing on a video camera.Photo: Europics

In reality, an anxious groom will pay relatives and friends to use
deception, cohesion or force to physically take a girl and bring her to
his home.


Once she arrives, the girls in his family will dress the kidnapped
bride in a special neckerchief called an Oramal — something Kazakh women
must accept to show their “consent” to marriage.


The process of accepting this garment can often take days of being
locked up, but money almost always plays a role in saying yes.


“Often the families of the victims agree because the groom pays them a
lot of money,” said local women’s rights activist Anfisa Zuyeva. “But
it is an outdated and horrific tradition which has no place in modern
Kazakhstan.


“No wonder people think we’re backward and barbaric,” she added.


Due to the latest video going viral and the fact that over 60 percent
of adults and 74 percent of teenagers had either been victims or knew
people who were, authorities are now looking to make bride-kidnapping
illegal in the country.