Abstract

This article explores intersections among gender, violence and socio-economic insecurities through examining the practice of women’s abduction for forced marriage in rural Kyrgyzstan. In the post-Soviet period, bride-kidnapping has been discussed as an expression of reviving 'traditional' ethnic culture and as a system of social rules that constrain actors in a variety of ways. Understanding of this practice requires a more nuanced analysis of the links between various forms of vulnerabilities and gender violence it expresses. Previous work has overlooked men's roles within bride abduction process which are not simply men's exertion of authority but are intricate reflections of wider changes taking place in newly independent Kyrgyzstan. Through an analysis of interviews with forty-five men who have been involved in bride kidnappings we build a nuanced account of the broader system of structural and institutional inequalities that comprise ala kachuu and make social actors less agentic. The article links bride-kidnapping to ecological & economic transformations, and the social importance given to marriage - all in the context of neofamilial national state politics where gender violence takes shape as unsanctioned rituals cast as ‘tradition’.

摘要

本文通过考察吉尔吉斯斯坦农村妇女因强迫婚姻而被绑架的做法，探讨了性别、暴力和社会经济不安全之间的交集。在后苏联时期，绑架新娘被认为是复兴“传统”民族文化的一种表现形式，也是一种以各种方式约束行为者的社会规则体系。理解这种做法需要更细致地分析各种形式的脆弱性与其所表达的性别暴力之间的联系。以前的工作忽视了男人在新娘绑架过程中的角色，这不仅仅是男人行使权威，而是新独立的吉尔吉斯斯坦正在发生的更广泛变化的复杂反映。通过对参与绑架新娘的 45 名男子的访谈进行分析，我们对更广泛的结构性和制度性不平等系统进行了细致入微的描述，这些系统包括 ala kachuu 并降低了社会行为者的主动性。这篇文章将新娘绑架与生态和经济转型以及婚姻的社会重要性联系起来——所有这些都是在新家族民族国家政治的背景下进行的，在这种背景下，性别暴力形成为未经批准的仪式，被视为“传统”。