Bride kidnapping

SINYO n. bride

THAO v. steal

Bride kidnapping? What is that?

I asked myself the same thing. I had this image of Borat throwing a bag over the unsuspecting Pamela Anderson at the end of his cultural learnings movie, with the hope of taking her back to Kazahkstan so they both could be husband and (unwilling) wife.

Most of us laughed, because it was a made-up story. It was Borat. The victim was Pamela. It was only a movie.

Sadly, the tradition of forcing and taking a girl out of her home and marrying her off to a complete stranger is not a fictional world conceived by Borat. It is actually happening, in Kyrgyzstan.

"No wonder Russia is happy to let these countries go!" I once heard someone said.

I was shocked to read about it some time ago. A UK-based reporter decided to highlight the plight of these hapless girls in a documentary. It is showing in the UK this week. I hope ASTRO will buy the program and show it here in Malaysia.

Why?

Because it is easy to see the misfortunes of these so-called primitive traditions belonging to other cultures. Some Kyrgyzs see this as a common occurence. What's the fuss? Women earn so little there, they are better off getting (forced) married!

Such paternalistic attitude towards women and the younger community is still rife, especially in developing countries. Even in Malaysia. I hope we can also examine our own cultural shortcomings and faults as much as we see them in others.

Because we too, have a long way to go....

...freedom of expression. Transparency. And freedom to believe.