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In Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, two countries in central Asia between Russia and China, there is a so-called tradition of bride kidnapping. Young women are abducted, often in broad daylight, and taken to a man’s house, where they are pressured into accepting his marriage proposal. It’s illegal in both countries but recently the president of Kazakhstan announced a law to further crack down on it and increase the penalties for the perpetrators. In this episode Malika Burieva, a content creator who covers central Asia, explains where this practice comes from and why people do it. Kubat Kasymbekov, from the ��ѿ��ý Kyrgyz service, tells us how two high profile cases of bride kidnapping led to protests and calls for action and why so few cases get to court. Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Julia Ross-Roy, Chelsea Coates and Benita Barden Video Journalist: Baldeep Chahal Editor: Verity Wilde