Bride Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan

*7.0

Status

Released

Production

VICE Media

Aired

2011-12-08

Bride Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan

In the Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan, tradition is king. Polo's still played with a freshly killed goat and the men still marry their women the old-fashioned way: by abducting them off the street and forcing them to be their wife. Bride kidnapping is a supposedly ancient custom that's made a major comeback since the fall of Communism and now accounts for nearly half of all marriages in some parts.