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53 Case W. Res. J. Int'l L. 475 (2021)
Prosecuting Bride Kidnapping: The Law Isn't Enough; Aligning Cultural Norms with the Law

handle is hein.journals/cwrint53 and id is 483 raw text is: CASE WESTERN RESERVE JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 53 (2021)
PROSECUTING BRIDE KIDNAPPING:
THE LAW ISN'T ENOUGH; ALIGNING
CULTURAL NORMS WITH THE LAW
Alexandria McKenna Lundberg*
ABSTRACT
The struggle between cultural and legal norms suggests that more
than a change in law is necessary to change cultural practices. If law
enforcement is not influenced by existing cultural norms, the law may
have little effect in prosecuting bride kidnapping. This Note, focusing
on Kyrgyzstan, argues that current legal responses to bride kidnapping
are  insufficient to   protect   vulnerable   women. Instead, a      more
comprehensive     strategy   like  that  of  addressing    female   genital
mutilation would better address the factors and settings that create
circumstances of vulnerability and violence.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT .........................................................................................475
TABLE OF CONTENTS..........................................................................475
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 476
I.   DESCRIPTION   OF  BRIDE  KIDNAPPING............................................ 478
A. The Practice: Take the Girl and Run...................................................478
B. A Culture of Abducting Brides..............................................................480
C. Violence Against Women......................................................................483
1.  Dom estic  and  Sexual V iolence.........................................................484
2.  Low  B irth  W eight............................................................................486
3 .  S u icid e ..............................................................................................4 8 7
4.  Sham e  and  T radition .......................................................................488
II. FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION .................................................... 488
A. Current FGM Issues and Global Opposition........................................491
B. Lessons from Senegal ............................................................................493
C. Similarities Between Bride Kidnapping and FGM...............................494
III. WHEN LAW AND CULTURE CONFLICT...........................................495
A. Kyrgyz Law............................................................................................496
B. International Law..................................................................................497
C. Inadequate Enforcement and Barriers to Remedy................................499
IV .  T HE  LAW  ISN'T  E NOUGH .............................................................500
A. The Law as an Independent Variable ...................................................501
*    J.D. Candidate, Case Western Reserve University School of Law,
Cleveland, Ohio, May 2021.
475

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