Kyrgyzstan Will No Longer Tolerate Bride-Kidnapping

In Kyrgyzstan, up to 15,000 women a year are victims of bride kidnapping, in which men abduct them and sometimes rape them as a way of forcing them into marriage — once they’ve spent the night with a man, their families often won’t take them back. The practice is illegal, but the law is rarely enforced, and even when it is, bride-kidnapping carries a lesser penalty than other forms of abduction. But outgoing president Roza Otunbayeva (pictured) says the practice needs to end — and her statement marks the beginning of a month-long campaign to stamp it out. Unfortunately, bride-kidnapping is a longstanding tradition in Kyrgyzstan, and it will probably take longer than a month to put a stop to it.