Bride kidnapping (Kazakh: Kyz alyp qashu) is a cultural practice in Kazakhstan, involving the kidnapping of a woman, in order to force the woman to marry the kidnapper.
According to the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan, kidnapping can be sentenced to 10 to 15 years imprisonment.
Under the common law of Kazakhs, it was possible to kidnap a woman with her consent, especially when the man's family was too poor to pay a dowry.
Thus, her only social option is to escape the kidnapper's house before dark or agree to marry.
[1][3] In 2004, Peter Lom made a documentary called Ala Kachuu (trans.