Paper Example on Forced Marriages in Kyrgyzstan

Introduction

Cultural laws have for a long time been used to provide a basis for the exploitation of women in different communities around the world. Social, religious and community norms support different vices that oppress women while making it difficult for them to seek or receive help from relevant authorities. These communities have been able to work around set systems to ensure that the perpetrators do not face persecution by law and that the victims hide any incriminating information that may be used to save them from these norms. An example of such cultural practices is forced marriages that are common in various countries in the Middle East and Central Asia, which abuse the sanctity of marriage by ignoring legal marital laws and practising outdated customs (Parrot & Cummings, 2008).

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Forced marriages can be divided into child marriages, involuntary arranged marriages and bride kidnapping. Since the research will focus on forced marriages in Kyrgyzstan, it will mainly pay attention to bride kidnapping which is prevalent among the rural communities in the Republic. The Republic of Kyrgyzstan is a liberal society with Democrats who take pride in minimizing restrictions on women to allow them to participate in different social and political strata (Becker, Mirkasimov & Steiner, 2014). It is thus ironic that such a society upholds certain traditions that continue to oppress them. An in-depth review of forced marriages in Kyrgyzstan in light of its dynamics reveals how young girls and women are affected by this vice. The study will entail an analysis of the complexities of the issue such as how bride kidnapping occurs, why it occurs, the victims and perpetrators of the crime and issues that result from the problem. Additionally, the research will include factors that prevent authorities from completely doing away with forced marriages in the country and other measures that have been put in place to deal with the issue.

How the Issue is Gendered

The tradition of forcefully marrying off women is rooted in the belief that women are of a lower status, and that kidnapping gives the man control over the woman. The communities in rural Kyrgyzstan that practice forced marriages to consider women to be inferior to men, a factor that is evident in the pronounced difference between males and females in the institution of marriage (Agadjanian and Nedoluzkho, 2013). Women face more pressure to get married and bear children in comparison to men, who choose to find wives at their own time. For this reason, women have limited option when it comes to choosing marriage partners. Their families also fail to consider their decisions when choosing marriage partners, since these communities maintain that women are the men's property. In the case of kidnapped brides, the kidnappers rarely consult with the women, but rather use mental and physical violence to coerce them into accepting to marry the man.

Consultations occur between menfolk, with women simply accepting the decisions made on their behalf without their consent (Parrot & Cummings, 2008). The onset of marriages also presents women with numerous problems, ranging from physical violence to psychological distress. The system in the society in Kyrgyzstan is also set in a particular way which ensures that women remain oppressed by presenting various barriers that disallow them from leaving abusive marriages and from reporting these crimes to the relevant authorities. The fear of social stigma, shame and ridicule guarantee that women remain with their abusive husbands and continue to uphold the tradition. Becker et al. (2014) also explain that most women do not leave their marital homes for reasons such as the lack of financial support to survive after leaving their marital homes, and the bad reputation that accompanies divorced women, rendering them unworthy of remarrying. It is evident that the issue of forced marriages only affects women who, rather than be victims, are blamed for putting themselves in such situations (Fleming, 2015). Furthermore, Amsler and Kleinbach (1999) refer to it as a patriarchal practice that aims to limit women's rights in society. Based on the evidence available, it is clear that the issue affects women regardless of their economic, social and political status.

The Complexity of Forced Marriages

Becker et al., (2014) describe the concept of forced marriages as an intricate cultural and social phenomenon that majorly affects women. This issue, despite being a tradition, is now considered a crime, especially since the Kyrgyzstan parliament passed a law that declares abduction a crime (Amsler & Kleinbach, 1999). However, most people still consider it an important tradition rather than a criminal offence. Additionally, there is the assumption that certain women may be kidnapped after giving their consent, making it challenging to separate them from cases of non-consensual kidnappings which entail violence and rape. Since this practice takes different forms, its perpetrators are rarely ever punished while women continue to suffer under them. The victims also rarely seek help from the authorities and in rare cases where they manage to report their abduction and rape, they are usually hindered from giving their statements, causing the case to be discarded.

Victims

As discussed above, the victims of forced marriages are young girls and women. Depending on the cultural setting, men may kidnap girls as they walk home from school and drive them to their parents' home or the home of a relative. The female members of the Kyrgyz communities tend to miss out on numerous social development opportunities such as education in the case of child brides and employment for educated women. Moreover, Parrot and Cummings (2008) explain that forced marriages provide channels for controlling the sexuality of women since they experience rape and other forms of sexual abuse, physical violence, mental abuse and physical detention. The use of coercion and compulsion present limited opportunities to affected individuals, making it difficult for them to be deemed victims of sexual slavery. Their inability to leave their marital homes ensures that they provide marital sex to their husbands, which is a form of sexual slavery especially since they are exposed to sexual violence, threats and mental abuse while in the homes of their abductors.

Women also lack the means to counter these cultural norms since these communities ignore all laws that the government passes on legal marriages. Relevant authorities such as the police consider this practice an innocent cultural norm, hence fail to arrest any abductors (Parrot & Cummings, 2008). Simply put, the entire social system is constructed to work against women and ensure that they remain, sexual slaves, while experiencing other forms of abuse that result from their negative experiences in forced marriages. In instances where wives manage to run away from their husbands and try to seek justice for being kidnapped and exposed to sexual slavery, the authorities completely disregard their claims and instead, ask them to reconcile with the people that abuse them (Parrot & Cummings, 2008).

Perpetrators

The perpetrators of forced marriages can be said to be the communities that support these traditions and any other individuals or group of individuals that help to enforce it. Families are not intent on putting an end to this custom, especially since parents fail to rescue their daughters from their kidnappers once they receive the acceptance letters that victims are threatened to write. Various cases as told by Parrot and Cummings (2008) show how families tend to be reluctant to go get their daughters from their kidnappers, and instead choose to send relatives to convince them to stay in their kidnapper's homes. Additionally, the desire to remain socially accepted in their communities supersedes their parental instincts, hence ensuring that they enforce this oppressive act.

Despite the existence of legal rights on marriage and on the protection of women's rights, relevant authorities are also indirect perpetrators of this act. The police have ignored the seriousness of the crime, and have thus been used to uphold bride kidnapping and other forms of forced marriages. In cases where kidnapped women manage to escape from their captor's homes and seek help from social services, their cases are disregarded as having been consensual and are encouraged to reconcile with their husbands. The family of the groom may also bribe the authorities to do away with cases of abduction and violence (Parrot & Cummings, 2008). Additionally, when the police have evidence of these crimes, they may fail to obtain witness statements, thereby resulting in inaction.

Issues

When looking at the issues that arise from bride kidnapping in enforcing forced marriages, the question of the vitality attached in putting in force the rights of women come to mind. Despite the existence of laws on abduction and progressive laws protecting women, most people disregard this crime as a tradition even though it includes domestic violence and sexual abuse. Some of the problems that women face for experiencing bride kidnapping include mental health issues such as psychological stress, anxiety, and trauma resulting from the violence during the marriage and sexual slavery (Parrot & Cummings, 2008). Such problems may result in problems during childbirth, which may result in depression. Women who are unable to bear children are exposed to ridicule and shaming since these societies consider them to be of a lower status than their child-bearing married counterparts. According to Fleming (2015), illiteracy also prevents women from having knowledge of their human rights, thereby providing them with limited options.

Measures that are Being Implemented to Mitigate This Issue

The government of Kyrgyzstan continues to pass more regulations to curb this vice and limit the number of abductions and violence-related traditions. The media has also played its role in trying to highlight the plights of women as a way of sensitizing the seriousness of this issue and emphasizing the fact that it is outdated. A group of lawyers in the republic also provide time to help victims of such marriages by suing for child custody and alimony for these women. Additionally, social services are providing shelters for women who are escaping from violet and abusive homes (Fleming, 2015). It is however difficult for the government to completely eradicate the issue since it is deeply rooted in the traditional customs of the people.

Conclusion

It is evident that most cultural practices do not favor women, especially in the Kyrgyz culture where women are forced into marriages and exposed to physical and sexual abuse. This tradition is an abuse of human rights and demeans women who tend to remain in their abusive marriages for fear of facing social stigma and being shamed. The government has been unable to end this norm, with the police being co-conspirators by failing to arrest the perpetrators of the crime. However, with time, sensitization by the media through different outlets will likely encourage people to disregard it and embrace more human modern practices that are in accordance with marital laws in the country, as a way of preserving human and women's rights.

References

Agadjanian, V., & Nedoluzhko, L. (2013). Arranged and Forced Marriages in Kyrgyzstan: Persistence or Change? National Council of Eurasian and East European Research. Retrieved from http://www.nceeer.org/

Amsler, S., & Kleinbach, R. (1999). Bride Kidnapping in the Kyrgyz Republic. International Journal of Central Asian Studies, vol. 5, pp. 1-29.

Becker, C. M., Mirkasimov, B., & Steiner, S. (2014).Forced Marriages and Birth Weight: The Consequence...