bride snatching: how lovely it's becoming more common

following a disturbing title (Bride-Snatching Involved in Half of All Marriages in Kyrgyzstan) on liveleak, i came across this video:




note the shaming guilt placed on the kidnapped wives and the ambivalent, entitled attitudes of the men interviewed for this video.




i can't believe this practice, called ala kachuu, goes on so regularly(or even at all.) also disturbing is the fact that the authorities officially state that wife-snatching is illegal, but that no one ever prosecutes. and of course the abducted women are considered unclean, impure, or tainted by muslim standards, and will be shunned by their families and society if fleeing their captors, especially once the marriage is consummated, aka rape, occurs. how's that for a horribly textbook description of double victimization? thank gods there are people like the woman in the video fighting for the victims' rights.




it's inconceivable that they have to teach students that stealing your bride is wrong, but i'm glad they're at least acknowledging that there's a problem with viewing women as chattel.




this practice of wife snatching is becoming more popular since the fall of the USSR, as the liberation of the area has caused many groups to harken back to ancient customs and traditions.




hiding behind cultural relativism in this case is a load of bs to me. kidnapping is a crime, no matter to which gods you do or do not pray. your religion does not entitle you to rape, demean, and abuse others.

comfort for 'comfort women?'

i came across this article today in the bbc news. of course our government, as bullies of the world, is yet again pushing others to claim responsibility for wrongdoing. but at least in this case, it's justified.

the idea of 'comfort women' bends my stomach in ways it just should not warp. these poor women, and japan's denial to compensate them, is atrocious, as PM Shinzo Abe apologizes for the rampant sex slavery induced (after getting flack for denying its existence), yet will not recognize a necessity to act further. this article discusses the issue a bit more clearly.

ugh. politicians are sleazy and doublespeaky everywhere. he's acknowledging spilling the milk but refusing to wipe away the puddle.

the act passed holds japan to no promises of reparations, and abe's apology smacks of media motivation and insincerity, as he just lost upper house control, and is less than popular with japan's citizens (see here.)