A Horrific Kazakhstan Tradition Caught On Tape: Video Of Bride Kidnapping Uploaded To Youtube [Video]

A “bride kidnapping” was caught on tape in Kazakhstan, where stealing a bride and forcing her into marriage is a widely accepted custom.

The NY Post reports that the scene depicted in the video has all the makings of a traditional marriage ceremony — Kazakh music, a special bridal carpet and loads of confetti being thrown in celebration. However, 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 bride is anything but cooperative in the video. In fact, she can be seen kicking, screaming, crying and attempting to flee her captors. However, the “wedding” continues as if the girl is not making a scene. Sadly, this is not uncommon in Kazakhstan.

A woman’s rights activist from Kazakhstan, Anfisa Zuyeva, says, “Often the families of the victims agree because the groom pays them a lot of money. But it is an outdated and horrific tradition which has no place in modern Kazakhstan. No wonder people think we’re backward and barbaric.”

The act of “stealing a bride” is so common in Kazakhstan that over 60 percent of adults and 74 percent of teenagers had either been victims of bride kidnapping or knew people who were. The startling statistics and the new video have brought the disturbing traditions back into legal consideration. Authorities are now looking to make bride-kidnapping illegal in the country.

Kazakhstan isn’t the only country with a bride kidnapping problem. Romanian women have also been the frequent victims of being forced into marriage against their will via a “stealing of the bride.”

Did you know that “bride kidnapping” is legal and commonplace in Kazakhstan?