Update:
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On 13 December 2012, the Kyrgyz Parliament approved a bill aimed at strengthening legislation on bride kidnapping. Equality Now welcomes this development and urges President Almazbek Atambayev to sign the bill so that it can finally become law.
Please continue to write to President Atambayev, asking him to sign the bill and to ensure that cases of bride kidnapping are properly investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. We will continue to work with our partners on the ground to successfully implement the law to prevent bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan.
NOVEMBER 16, 2012 UPDATE: Equality Now has been informed by the Kyrgyz Public Prosecutor’s office that it has taken steps aimed at strengthening investigations of allegations of bride kidnapping across the country, although details about these measures and their implementation are currently unclear. Furthermore, in January 2012 the Kyrgyz parliament rejected a legislative amendment that would have introduced fines for Islamic clerics who bless unofficially registered marriages, which commonly include those resulting from bride kidnapping.
Another bill was introduced in June 2012 which sought to strengthen the law on bride kidnapping and this bill was adopted at second reading by the Kyrgyz Parliament on 18 October 2012. Upon consultation with local partners, Equality Now sent a letter to the Kyrgyz parliament welcoming this development and urging all members of parliament to take this opportunity to ensure that legislation adequately strengthened, including by amending it to incorporate accomplice liability for those complicit in the kidnapping as well as guaranteed protection of victims and provision of easy access to medical, social and legal services. We also called on members of parliament to ensure that once stronger legislation has been passed, it is duly implemented, and that they do what they can, in their capacity as members of parliament, to ensure that cases are properly investigated and prosecuted and that the government implements awareness raising in the context of a comprehensive prevention strategy. At the same time, we expressed our support for a petition sent to parliament by Kyrgyz women’s groups in support of stronger legislation.
