Women in Kyrgyzstan

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Women in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyz woman.jpg
Kyrgyz woman
General Statistics
Maternal mortality  (per 100,000)60(2017)
Women in parliament 16,5% (2020)
Women over 25 with secondary education 81.0% (2010)
Women in labour force44,09%(2019)
Gender Inequality Index [1]
Value0.370 (2021)
Rank87th out of 191
Global Gender Gap Index [2]
Value0.700 (2022)
Rank86th out of 146

Women in Kyrgyzstan traditionally had assigned roles, although only the religious elite sequestered women as was done in other Muslim societies. [3] Rural inhabitants continue the traditional Siberian tribal practice of bride kidnapping (abducting women and girls for forced marriage). Bride kidnapping, known as ala kachuu (to take and flee), girls as young as 12 years old are kidnapped for forced marriage, by being captured and carried away by groups of men or even relatives who, through violence or deception, take the girl to the abductor's family who forces and coerces the young woman to accept the illegal marriage. In most cases, the young woman is raped immediately in the name of marriage.[8]

Contents

Although the practice is illegal in Kyrgyzstan, bride kidnappers are rarely prosecuted. This reluctance to enforce the code is in part caused by the corrupt legal system in Kyrgyzstan where many villages are de facto ruled by councils of elders and aqsaqal courts following customary law, away from the eyes of the state legal system.[9]

Cultural background

Kyrgyzstan is a country in Central Asia, with strong nomadic traditions. Most of Kyrgyzstan was annexed to Russia in 1876, but the Kyrgyz staged a major Marxism influenced violent conflict with the Tsarist Empire in 1916. Kyrgyzstan became a Soviet republic in 1936, and became an independent state in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed. The current population of the country consists of a Kyrgyz majority (70.9%), followed by Uzbeks at 14.3%, and Russians at 7.7%. There are also other minorities such as Dungan, Uyghur, Tajik, Turk, Kazakh, Tatar, Ukrainian, Korean and German. Most of the population is Muslim (75%), but there is also a significant Russian Orthodox minority (20%). The country is largely rural: only 35.7% of the population lives in urban areas. The total fertility rate is 2.66 children born/woman (2015 estimate), despite the fact that the modern contraceptive prevalence rate is quite low, at 36.3% (2012 estimate). The literacy rate of women is very high at 99.4% (2015 estimate). [4]

Modern times

In modern times, especially in the first years of independence, women have played more prominent roles in Kyrgyzstan than elsewhere in Central Asia. [3] As a result of the December 16, 2007 parliamentary elections, 23 women representing three political parties have positions in parliament. [5] As of 2007, women held several high‑level government posts, including minister of finance, minister of education and science, minister of labor and social development, chief justice of the Constitutional Court, the chair of the State Committee on Migration and Employment Issues, and chair of the CEC. [5] As of 2007, no women occupied the positions of governor or head of local government. [5] In August 2007, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev signed into effect an action plan on achieving gender balance for 2007–2010. [5] Between 2007 and 2010, women members of parliament introduced 148 out of the 554 bills that were considered on the floor, covering issues from breastfeeding protection in health bill to the adoption of a law guaranteeing equal rights and opportunities for women and men. [6] In March 2010, opposition politician Roza Otunbaeva rose to power as caretaker president following a revolution against Bakiyev's government, becoming Kyrgyzstan's first female president. [7]

Violence against women

Despite laws against them, many crimes against women are not reported due to psychological pressure, cultural traditions, and apathy of law enforcement officials. Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal, but enforcement of the law is very poor. [8] Rape is underreported, and prosecutors rarely bring rape cases to court. [8]

Bride kidnapping, forced and early marriage

Although prohibited by law, rural inhabitants continue the traditional practice of bride kidnapping (abducting women and girls for forced marriage). In many primarily rural areas, bride kidnapping, known as ala kachuu (to take and flee), is an accepted and common way of taking a wife. Girls as young as 12 years old are kidnapped for forced marriage, by being captured and carried away by groups of men who, through violence or deception, take the girl to the home of the intended groom, where the abductor's family pressures and coerces the young woman to accept the marriage. In some cases, the young woman is raped in order to force the marriage. [9]

Although the practice is illegal in Kyrgyzstan, bride kidnappers are rarely prosecuted. This reluctance to enforce the code is in part caused by the pluralistic legal system in Kyrgyzstan where many villages are de facto ruled by councils of elders and aqsaqal courts following customary law, away from the eyes of the state legal system. [10] The law against bride kidnapping was toughened in 2013. [11]

Domestic violence

The Law on Social and Legal Protection against Domestic Violence (2003) [12] is Kyrgyzstan's law against domestic violence. In practice, police often refuse to register domestic violence complaints, which are seen as private. [13]

Sex trafficking

Citizen and foreign women and girls are victims of sex trafficking in Kyrgyzstan. They are raped and physically and physiologically harmed in brothels, hotels, homes, and other locations throughout the country. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]

Sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is prohibited by law; [19] however, according to an expert at the local NGO Shans, it is rarely reported or prosecuted. [5]

Violent extremism and terrorism

ISIS recruitment occurs on a small scale in Kyrgyzstan. From 2010-2016 the government reported that 863 citizens had participated as foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq, 188 of which were women. [20] It has been suggested that women in Kyrgyzstan join due to either family pressure from the husband or sometimes other relatives, which has been referred to as "zombification," or as a way to seek higher social status, financial prosperity, and sometimes the offer of marriage. [21]

Women in law enforcement and security

The Association of Women Police of Kyrgyzstan was established in 2010 with the aim of supporting female police officers and to advocate for gender equality in law enforcement and within government more generally. In March 2017 the Association of Women in the Security Sector was established in Bishkek. Both entities are supported by the OSCE in Kyrgyzstan. [22] [23]

Women enjoy the same rights as men, including under family law, property law, and in the judicial system, although discrimination against women persists in practice. [5] The 2010 Constitution of Kyrgyzstan insures gender equality. Article 16 reads: (2) [...] "No one may be subject to discrimination on the basis of sex, race, language, disability, ethnicity, belief, age, political and other convictions, education, background, proprietary and other status as well as other circumstances." (4)"In the Kyrgyz Republic men and women shall have equal rights and freedoms and equal opportunities for their realization." [24] The Soviet rulers claimed to have abolished many harmful traditions deriving from discriminatory nomadic practices and customs, such as bride price and forced marriage, although it is debatable to what extent this was true - according to some sources "Traditional marriage practices in the rural regions [...] have been little affected by Soviet domination", while the bride price, although outlawed by the communist regime, continued under the guise of "gifts". [25] Today, in practice, women, especially in remote rural areas, are often discriminated and prevented from enjoying their legal rights, and are often unaware of their rights and "[t]hey do not know that they can report beatings by their husbands to the police." [26]

Polygamy

On March 26, parliament voted against a measure to decriminalize polygamy. [5] Although no official statistics were available, Minister of Justice Marat Kaiypov stated that the ministry prosecutes two to three polygamy cases each year. [5]

Prostitution

Prostitution is not a crime, although the operation of brothels, pimping, and recruiting persons into prostitution is illegal, with penalties of up to five years in prison. With no legal measures in place to regulate the industry, it was an ongoing problem. The NGO Tais-Plus continued to defend the rights of people in prostitution.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual slavery</span> Slavery with the intention of using the slaves for sex

Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership right over one or more people with the intent of coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in sexual activities. This includes forced labor that results in sexual activity, forced marriage and sex trafficking, such as the sexual trafficking of children.

Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one's spouse without the spouse's consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and need not involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of domestic violence and sexual abuse. Although, historically, sexual intercourse within marriage was regarded as a right of spouses, engaging in the act without the spouse's consent is now widely classified as rape by many societies around the world, and increasingly criminalized. However it is repudiated by some more conservative cultures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bride kidnapping</span> Practice in which someone abducts the person they wish to marry

Bride kidnapping, also known as marriage by abduction or marriage by capture, is a practice in which a man abducts the woman he wishes to marry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forced marriage</span> Being married without consenting

Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or more of the parties is married without their consent or against their will. A marriage can also become a forced marriage even if both parties enter with full consent if one or both are later forced to stay in the marriage against their will.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in Kyrgyzstan</span>

Human rights in Kyrgyzstan improved after the ouster of President Askar Akayev in the 2005 Tulip Revolution and the installment of a more democratic government under Roza Otunbayeva. While the country is performing well compared to other states in Central Asia, many human rights violations still take place. While LGBT rights have been declining in recent years, freedom of press has been improving.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violence against women</span> Violent acts committed primarily against women and girls

Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed by men or boys against women or girls. Such violence is often considered a form of hate crime, committed against women or girls specifically because they are female, and can take many forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ala kachuu</span>

Ala kachuu is a form of bride kidnapping still practiced in Kyrgyzstan. The term can apply to a variety of actions, ranging from a consensual elopement to a non-consensual kidnapping, and to what extent it actually happens is controversial. Some sources suggest that currently at least a third of Kyrgyzstan's brides are taken against their will.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Mali</span> Overview of the status of women in Mali

The status and social roles of women in Mali have been formed by the complex interplay of a variety of traditions in ethnic communities, the rise and fall of the great Sahelien states, French colonial rule, independence, urbanisation, and postcolonial conflict and progress. Forming just less than half Mali's population, Malian women have sometimes been the center of matrilineal societies, but have always been crucial to the economic and social structure of this largely rural, agricultural society.

Indonesia is a source, transit, and destination country for women, children, and men trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. The greatest threat of trafficking facing Indonesian men and women is that posed by conditions of forced labor and debt bondage in more developed Asian countries and the Middle East.

The Kyrgyz Republic is a source, transit, and to a lesser extent a destination country for men and women trafficked from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan for purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Men and women are trafficked to Kazakhstan for forced agricultural labor—mainly in tobacco fields—to Russia for forced construction work, and to China for bonded labor. Kyrgyz and foreign women are trafficked to the U.A.E., China, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Thailand, Germany, and Syria for sexual exploitation.

Pakistan is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labour and prostitution. The largest human trafficking problem is bonded labour, concentrated in the Sindh and Punjab provinces in agriculture and brick making, and to a lesser extent in mining and carpet-making. Estimates of bonded labour victims, including men, women, and children, vary widely, but are likely well over one million. In extreme scenarios, when labourers speak publicly against abuse, landowners have kidnapped labourers and their family members. U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2 Watchlist" in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in Papua New Guinea</span>

Papua New Guinea is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Women and children are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary domestic servitude; trafficked men are forced to provide labor in logging and mining camps. Children, especially young girls from tribal areas, are most vulnerable to being pushed into commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor by members of their immediate family or tribe. Families traditionally sell girls into forced marriages to settle their debts, leaving them vulnerable to involuntary domestic servitude, and tribal leaders trade the exploitative labor and service of girls and women for guns and political advantage. Young girls sold into marriage are often forced into domestic servitude for the husband’s extended family. In more urban areas, some children from poorer families are prostituted by their parents or sold to brothels. Migrant women and teenage girls from Malaysia, Thailand, China, and the Philippines are subjected to forced prostitution, and men from China are transported to the country for forced labor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukuthwalwa</span> South African term for bride kidnapping

Ukuthwala is the South African term for bride kidnapping, the practice of a man abducting a young girl and forcing her into marriage, often with the consent of her parents. These "marriages by capture" occur mainly in rural parts of South Africa, in particular the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The Basotho call it tjhobediso. Among the Xhosa and Zulu people, ukuthwala was once an acceptable way for two young people in love to get married when their families opposed the match. Ukuthwala has been abused, however, "to victimize isolated rural women and enrich male relatives."

Prostitution in Kyrgyzstan has been legal since 1998, but the operation of brothels, pimping, and recruiting persons into prostitution are illegal, with penalties of up to five years There are estimated to be 7,100 sex workers in the country. Prostitution occurs on the streets, in bars, hotels and brothels.

Forced pregnancy is the practice of forcing a woman or girl to become pregnant or remain pregnant against her will, often as part of a forced marriage, as part of a programme of breeding slaves, or as part of a programme of genocide. Forced pregnancy is a form of reproductive coercion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violence against women in Guatemala</span> Public health issue of violent acts against women

Violence against women in Guatemala reached severe levels during the long-running Guatemalan Civil War (1960-1996), and the continuing impact of that conflict has contributed to the present high levels of violence against women in that nation. During the armed conflict, rape was used as a weapon of war.

Rape is a major issue in Afghanistan. A number of human rights organizations have criticized the country's rape laws and their enforcement.

Aida Kasymalieva is a Kyrgyz journalist and politician who has been deputy speaker of the Supreme Council since December 2018. She has been an advocate for women's rights in the context of domestic violence, bride kidnapping and child marriages within her country.

Sex trafficking in China is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and slavery that occurs in the People's Republic of China. China, the world's second-most populous country, has the second highest number of human trafficking victims in the world. It is a country of origin, destination, and transit for sexually trafficked persons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex trafficking in Kyrgyzstan</span>

Sex trafficking in Kyrgyzstan is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and slavery that occurs in the Kyrgyz Republic.

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