A video which shames Kazakhstan has been circulating the web. The video shows a teenage “bride” wailing and trying to resist the relatives of the “groom” who have kidnapped her and are forcing her to get in the house and proceed with the marriage.

The kidnapping of teenage girls by family members of wannabe grooms, without the consent of the bride or even with her family is an ancient tradition in Kazakhstan, on which the law rarely intervenes. The girl in the video is crying her eyes out while men and women who kidnapped her earlier are trying to pull her out of the car and get her in the groom’s house while traditional marriage music plays in the background and confetti is thrown on the bride.

The teenage girl tries, in futility, to resist one last time by clutching the doorway but her kidnappers push her in the house, where they place the traditional wedding “Oramal” scarf on her head which… symbolizes the wife’s assent to the wedding!

Activist for women’s rights in Kazakhstan, Anfisa Zuyeva notes that the tradition is “barbaric” and should be abolished. She also notes that the video titled “Stealing the Bridge” which is now circulating in media around the globe has become Kazakhstan’s shame. The event took place in Akmola, central Kazakhstan, and the video was recorded on one of the guests’ phone.

The activist underlined that the unacceptable custom does not fit the modern image the country portrays and supported that parliament members want it abolished. She also added that when the wife’s family has a problem with the wedding match, the groom usually pays them forego said worries.