DAUGHTERS OF KYRGYZSTAN
“My heart is shattered, but filled with hope after this film.”
ROLE: Director, Producer, Editor, Sound Editing
A short documentary of trying to discover the cycle and patterns behind the bride kidnapping traditions in Kyrgyzstan. The film tells the heartbreaking real stories of women who have been kidnapped that has been remaining voiceless for a lifetime and the shame that revolves around the practice. But, it also captures a glimpse of hope and strength that comes out of these very women, and their heart for the next generation. The film focuses on the point of the bride kidnapping cycle, where the victim’s own family members deny and reject their daughter.. Throwing the questions what would it look like, if the woman’s family would step up and protect their daughter regardless of the “shame” that comes with it. If the love of the family for their daughter was stronger than the fear of shame… This could possibly lead to a break in the cycle and a change in the definition of what true honor could mean.
“Bride Kidnapping” also known as “Ala Kachuu” in Kyrgyz, is a practice where a man abducts a woman (both non-consensual and consensual) takes her to his house, where his family forces her into marriage that very day. The women of the man’s family, surrounds the to-be-bride in a room, screaming and pressuring her to accept the “white scarf” (joluk) as it is the symbol of a newly wedded bride. The entire process can take hours of physical resistance, yelling, and psychological pressure, threatening the girl that if she rejects or run away, she will be forever cursed or marginalized by her village as “tainted” or “not pure”. In some cases, the victim’s family is able to get in contact or come to the crime site, but almost always.. the girl’s family rejects and abandons their daughter in the name of honor, to save the family’s reputation from “Uyat” also known as “Shame”.
Often times the entire process becomes violent, going to the point of rape to trap the victim from leaving. There has been many cases where the victim commits suicide after the wedding night, or the marriage ends up either in domestic violence or divorce.
In 2013 bride kidnapping has been made illegal, with a penalty of only 3 years of prison for the culprit, however it is rarely prosecuted due to the still common belief that it is “tradition”. There are many historical evidence that bride kidnapping is not a tradition, but it is still a widely debated topic within the people till this day.