Kazakhstan’s Human Rights Ombudsman Artur Lastayev said the country’s new law criminalizing forced marriage is not aimed at the traditional practice of alyp kashu (bride kidnapping), arguing that the key distinction is consent.
Read also: Kazakhstan to crack down on bride kidnapping with serious punishments.
According to Lastayev, the law targets the abduction of women against their will and should not be confused with cases in which two adults mutually agree to marry despite family opposition.
Consent is the key difference
Lastayev said alyp kashu has historically referred to situations in which a couple chooses to be together but faces obstacles, such as parental disapproval or disputes over a bride price.
«Two people love each other and want to get married. The father is against it and demands a bride price. In such a situation, the groom takes the bride with her consent because they love each other and want to be together,» Lastayev said.
«What we are discussing in the law is the abduction of a woman against her will. That has nothing to do with this Kazakh tradition.»
Concerns over public perception
The ombudsman acknowledged that the legislation could lead some people to believe that the tradition itself is being outlawed, but he said that was never the intention of lawmakers.
«We were not fighting the tradition,» he said. «It is a positive tradition when two people freely decide that they want to be together. In the modern world, that choice belongs to them.»
Lastayev stressed that the purpose of the law is to combat coercion and nonconsensual abductions, rather than consensual relationships between adults.
