In Turkey, an "Uzbek bride" was accused of stealing gold. What is the actual situation?

In Turkey, an "Uzbek bride" was accused of stealing gold. What actually happened?

Ma’mura Burhonova, an Uzbekistani woman who married into a family in Turkey, was accused of stealing gold jewelry given by the groom's side and fleeing shortly after the wedding. After these reports spread in the Turkish media, the woman went to the local police and denied the allegations against her. According to her, she handed the gold over to her father-in-law, and she noted in chat messages that her father-in-law had sold them to cover credit and other debts. Currently, the investigation into the situation is ongoing. This is not the first conflict in Turkey involving brides from Uzbekistan.

Earlier, a similar accusation was made against Gulbahor Jumaniyozova, a citizen of Uzbekistan. A man who intended to marry her claimed that the woman had defrauded him of 20,000 dollars. During a live broadcast on a Turkish TV channel on this topic, the police took the woman away. Later, with the intervention of the Association for the Protection of the Rights of Uzbek Women in Turkey, the woman was released from custody.

In both cases, before a final legal conclusion was reached, these women found themselves at the center of public accusations.

It is worth noting that the number of Turkish-Uzbek marriages has been increasing in recent years. For example, in 2024, 3,509 Uzbekistani women married Turkish citizens. In 2025, this figure reached 3,925. Uzbekistani women accounted for 13.7 percent of foreign brides in Turkey in 2025, ranking second in this regard after Syria.

Therefore, how conflicts in these families are covered or presented to the public is an issue larger than just the relationship between two people. Turkish scholar Erkan Evci also notes that similar problems have been observed in other cases where marriages between representatives of different nationalities have increased, including the example of Azerbaijani-Turkish marriages.

"According to official figures, about 60,000 Uzbeks live in Turkey. Together with those living unofficially, there are perhaps 100,000 Uzbeks. Out of these 100,000 Uzbeks, maybe 60-70 percent are Uzbek women. Relative to the numbers, these incidents are perhaps few – 5 to 10 cases. There are many whom we do not see, who are living happily in these marriages.

This topic once used to exist among Azerbaijanis as well. In the late 90s and early 2000s, I heard about such things a lot. That is, from news saying 'an Azerbaijani girl got married, took the gold and ran away.' But today, our relations with Azerbaijanis have improved. Today, it is happening with Uzbekistan. Because Turks are just getting to know Uzbeks; previously, we did not know or recognize them. Ten years ago, when I married an Uzbek woman, I heard the question 'is she a Muslim?' a lot. We are only now learning how Uzbeks live and what customs they have. Therefore, out of ignorance and solely through media manipulations, people in Turkey are thinking incorrectly about Uzbeks.

When news is reported in the media, the name of the nation should not be mentioned, rather than saying 'an Uzbek did it, a Kazakh did it, or another nationality did it.' Because this creates incorrect information in people's minds. I have seen it even in the Uzbek media, and I have seen it in the Turkish media, emphasizing 'Uzbek bride.' There is disinformation in this.

In the last 10 years, 25,000 Uzbek brides have gone to Turkey. In Turkey, due to gender equality, women's rights have risen. This has led to the loss of some of our values. Therefore, our men want to marry women who are traditionally strong. That is why there are brides from Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, or other countries as well. As for the reason they marry our men in Uzbekistan – they watch our TV series a lot. In these movies and series, they see life in Turkey as magnificent. They see our sea, the beauties, and they admire it. But they do not see real life. Only one percent of people live a luxury life like in the movies here. Most live a simple life, just like Uzbek life. We also have difficult salaries; we are struggling economically. There are problems just like in all countries.

While there are 87 million people in Turkey, millions of people have still not seen the sea. In Istanbul alone, 100,000 people live without having seen the sea. Therefore, they think incorrectly; they need to research properly before going. One needs to think about whether the family of the person they want to marry is good," he says.

This issue is not limited only to the accusations made against the "Uzbek bride." In early 2026, tragic events in Turkey involving Uzbekistani citizens Durdona Hakimova and Sayyora Ergashaliyeva also gave the public serious pause. Therefore, today the question should be posed not within the narrow scope of who is to blame, but from the perspective of how the rights and safety of Uzbek women living in Turkey are being ensured.

For this, not only society but also the responsible agencies of both states are involved. Because the legal protection of citizens marrying abroad, their access to help when facing problems, and the prevention of stereotypes that negatively affect interethnic relations are issues that cannot be ignored.