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Stranger than fiction
Rumbidzai Dube
September 18, 2009

Musengabere in 2009!

I-m sure all you Zimbabweans remember this cultural practice. For the benefit of all non-Shona speaking people, the word directly translates to 'the one who carries a hyena- and it referred to the practice of bride stealing. The ancient cultural practice saw men, young or old checking out the ladies and identifying the ones they admired and wanted as wives. The man would study the woman/girl-s daily patterns, including when she would go to the river to fetch water or to the forest to collect firewood. He would then choose a day when he knew she would be alone, follow her and kidnap her. I mean literally kidnap her. Her family would obviously notice her disappearance and wonder where she could have gone to. The man would then reappear with her after a while and present her to her family. By then, this young lady-s family would be in doubt about her virginity. The assumption would be that the man did something to compromise her virginity during her disappearance. So, the man would be obliged to marry the woman. This would make him a very happy man indeed as this was his intention when he kidnapped her, but for the woman, this was a nightmare. She might not have even known this man, or if she did know him she probably did not like him and would not want him for a husband. She did not have a choice. She had no voice in the matter. She had to learn to love her husband and be a good wife to him.

In Zimbabwe, this culture has been outlawed. It is a gross violation of the basic right to choose what one wants in particular Article 16 (1) (a) and (b) of CEDAW which provides that 16 - 1. "States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations and in particular shall ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women: (a) The same right to enter into marriage; and (b) The same right freely to choose a spouse and to enter into marriage only with their free and full consent"

I don-t know if anyone has practised this culture recently in Zimbabwe but no reports have come to my attention.

But guess what? Just recently, my colleagues and I were having a discussion with a UN Representative on gender based violence where she mentioned that the culture of bride stealing is still being practised in Europe! That piqued my interest and so I decided to investigate further.

This is what I found:

Bride stealing is still being practiced at an alarming rate in Chechnya. Chechnya is a part of the former Soviet Union (Russia). To get a clear visual of its location go to: http://encarta.msn.com/map_701511685/chechnya.html. Kidnapping of women is not unusual in Chechnya; it is tradition to steal brides. Interviewed by a curious journalist who wanted to find out the status of women in his country, the President of Chechnya Kadyrov recently replied saying, "Women have a fantastic life in Chechnya. Our women must be modest. That is my slogan and my call to arms." (Radio Review - The unforgettable story of Chechnya-s stolen women - www.telegraph.co.uk)

Violent bride abductions are staged nearly every week in the mountain-ringed, Eastern European republic. During the spring wedding season, it can happen every day. Young women are snatched from bus stops, on their way home from school and sometimes out of their own yards. Shocking videos are available on www.youtube.com of men dragging screaming young women, their books, purses and cellphones sent flying. Law enforcement authorities turn a blind eye to the violent practice, embracing it as a romantic tradition. There are no statistics on how many women are seized each year in Chechnya but estimations are that thousands of women are victims. Locals estimate that about half of all marriages begin with abductions.

Just as it was with the Shona culture if an unmarried Chechen woman spends a night in a man's house, she is considered to be his wife. If he touches her before marriage, she is thought to be tainted.

And they say Africa is the 'Dark Continent-!

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