A marriage begins with a yes
Ak Jooluk («white headscarf») is a campaign against ala kachuu, the taking of a young woman to marry her without her agreement. It began in 2015, after a 19-year-old woman from a village of the Kara-Buura valley escaped two days after she was taken, and the court in Kyzyl-Adyr only fined the man who took her. Her lawyer was Gulnara Sadyk of the Legal Defense Guild. Women in Talas began to wear white headscarves to say that this must not be called a custom.
What we know
In 2021 Talas State University's Institute of Sociology and the St. Luka Community Health Mission asked 1,400 households. In the surveyed areas of the Talas Alatau and the Karatau, 13% of married women under 50 said their marriage began with abduction, and about half of them said it was against their will. In the cities it was under 2%. Many families did not want to answer, so the real numbers may be higher.
What we do
- A help line for young women and their families, with volunteers who speak Iradi, Russian and English.
- Free lawyers, together with the Legal Defense Guild.
- Talks in schools for grades 9-12, with a teacher and, where the parish agrees, a priest.
- Meetings with parents, aksakals and village councils who want to talk about it.
- White Headscarf Sunday, every year on the first Sunday of June: wear a white scarf, tie one to your car mirror or your bag.
Ak Jooluk is not against weddings, elopements both partners choose, or the old songs. It is against taking a woman who has not said yes, and against pressuring her to stay. We work with families, priests, teachers, aksakals and the police, and we do not take part in politics.
Contact: akjooluk@attelkom.net · office at Köpürö, Bilim Street 23, Talas (by appointment).
Page updated: Monday, 7 September 2026. This page is written by Ak Jooluk, a member of Köpürö, and hosted free of charge on kopuro.org.