Kidnapping a girl is part of marriage tradition in Chechnya

The news of a French teenager who was forcefully bundled into a BMW in the south of France has sparked a nationwide appeal for witnesses was the victim of a traditional Chechen pre-marriage kidnapping.

Witnesses had reported the entire act, how on Sunday they saw three people in a BMW kidnap an unidentified girl, aged 16 or 17, as she left a park with a companion who appeared to be involved in the abduction, reports Yahoo.

Her disappearance has led to a nationwide appeal for witnesses in a bid to find the girl.  The French girls was seen wearing a light-coloured skirt at the time of her abduction, from Privas in the southeastern Ardeche region.

Police received calls from as far afield as Belgium and Switzerland from people who thought they might have seen her.

When her family was inquired about the abduction, they simply stated that she was a victim of Chechen tradition where the bride is kidnapped by her soon-to-be husband.

“The enquiry is still underway,” the local prosecutor insisted, declining to comment on the Chechen connection.

Bride kidnapping is an act that has been practiced throughout history in which a man abducts the woman he wishes to marry.

According to Wikipedia, bride kidnapping still occurs in countries spanning Central Asia, the Caucasus region, and parts of Africa, and among peoples as diverse as the Hmong in southeast Asia, the Tzeltal in Mexico, and the Romani in Europe. In most countries, bride kidnapping is considered a sex crime, rather than a valid form of marriage.

Image Source