ASTANA – The Kazakh General Prosecutor’s Office supported President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s initiative to introduce a separate Criminal Code article establishing liability for bride kidnapping at a March 28 meeting of the Human Dimension Dialogue Platform consultative and advisory body.
The meeting of the Human Dimension Dialogue Platform was held at the Kazakh Foreign Ministry under the chairmanship of Ambassador-at-Large Alua Nadirkulova. Photo credit: gov.kz
According to the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service, work is currently underway with relevant government agencies to draft amendments regarding this tradition of the abduction of women for the purpose of forced marriage.
Kazakhstan has undertaken significant efforts to improve national legislation in the interests of women. The law on ensuring women’s rights and children’s safety, enacted on June 16, 2024, made Kazakhstan the first CIS country to introduce advanced protections against violence.
The April 2024 law strengthened protections against domestic violence by amending the Criminal Code to reinstate liability for battery and intentional harm to individuals in vulnerable situations.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that, following President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s directive, special police units for protecting women and children have been reinstated, and a new institution of female investigators is being introduced to handle sexual crime cases.
Additionally, measures were outlined to expand women’s economic rights, including increasing their representation in state-owned company leadership to 30%. Target indicators were set to boost female participation in executive roles and board directors. By the end of 2024, women owned 48.1% of small and medium-sized businesses, demonstrating their growing economic contribution.
