Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has ordered an end to the practice of bride kidnapping, saying it violates the laws of Russia and goes against Islam, the dominant religion in the republic.
Kadyrov’s press service said he spoke Sunday to an audience of government officials, law enforcement officers and clerics, telling all of them to do their part to end the practice.
Bride kidnapping is part of Chechen culture and has become increasingly popular in recent years.
In many cases, men seize women who either have refused to marry them voluntarily or whose families oppose the match. The woman’s family may then allow her to stay with her kidnapper on the assumption that the union has already been consummated.
(AP)
