By Aqila Hassanzada*<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NARYN, Kyrgyzstan (IDN) \u2013 Mairam Bibi says her sons will not follow in their father\u2019s footsteps \u2013 an abductor who kidnapped a teenage girl and forced her into a violent marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the age of 41, Mairam is sitting in her small straw house telling the story so many women in Kyrgyzstan could tell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One morning when she was a teenager, Mairam was going to school when an old car stopped in front of her. Two men ran out of the car and headed towards her. She was terrified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She had heard the stories of \u2018Ala Kachuu\u2019, how young girls were getting kidnapped in their own hometowns and forced into marriage. She never thought she would become a victim of Ala Kachuu herself. In her dreams, she would study medicine and become a doctor so she can help people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two years ago, Mairam Bibi, head covered with a black scarf, was sitting inside her small straw house. Lost in her thoughts, Mairam was thinking about the summer of the year 2000, the day, she graduated from school. She had always dreamt of this day to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A sudden shriek sound of someone crying brought Mairam back to reality. She opened her eyes and looked down at her appearance; black dress with a scarf tied around her head, people surrounding her as her husband\u2019s funeral feast is taking place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Broke down with a sob of despair, Mairam realizes the man who destroyed her life is now dead. \u201cI don\u2019t know whether I should feel happy or sad, my husband, the man who kidnapped me 17 years ago is now dead due to a heart attack,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thinking about her husband, she laughed and said, \u201cthat man had abused me for years and I stayed quiet for the sake of my children. He was working in construction, earning some money with which I was able to feed myself and my children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite years of reporting to the police, Ala Kachuu \u2013 bride kidnapping \u2013 is still being practiced by the Kyrgyz community. A human rights researcher says, \u201cthe Kyrgyzstan government has not done enough to enforce bride kidnapping laws and stop the high rate of domestic violence against women and girls.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A year after the death of Mairam\u2019s abductor, another girl, named Burulai Turdaaly Kyzy was bride kidnapped. Later, in May 2018, she was murdered when she went reporting it at the police station. Since after her death, women in Kyrgyzstan have raised the illegal practice of Ala Kachuu on social media platforms to bring this issue to the international authorities. But one woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said that most victims are forced to stay silent either by their abductor or for the sake of their family pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hillary Margolis, a researcher at Human Rights Watch<\/a>, said that the government has not done everything possible to enforce laws that would save women\u2019s and girl\u2019s lives. \u201cKyrgyzstan\u2019s government cannot afford to shirk its responsibilities toward women and girls. It is leaving the door open for more women like Burulai to die while waiting for the laws promise to be fulfilled,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the first three months of 2019, over 2,000 cases of domestic violence have been registered to police, according to Kyrgyz government data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Human rights group stated on Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, that 60% of all cases contained physical violence because of bride kidnapping, a tradition practiced in Kyrgyzstan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every year, around 1,000 girls are abducted for bride kidnapping, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP<\/a>). There are no laws or safety measures taken by the government to stop the illegal practice of bride kidnapping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n