2024/10/29 by Zachary Porreca · 1 voice
Social Sciences · Medicine · #Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences #Sex work and related issues #Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Issues
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/coep.12672
openalex publication_date 2024/10/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract Bride kidnapping, a forced marriage practice, has surged in post‐Soviet Kyrgyzstan alongside a revival of traditional values. The central government has empowered councils of elders, or aksakals , to handle local disputes based on cultural norms, including bride kidnapping. This study uses data from a national survey and a latent class nested logit model to examine how aksakal governance influences men's decisions to kidnap brides. Findings indicate that living under aksakal governance makes men 9% more likely to obtain a wife through bride capture, with men substituting kidnapping for choice marriage modalities such as elopement and standard love marriages.