“Don't be silent”: How women in Kazakhstan gain a voice
IN 2016, THE POSITION OF WOMEN CONSIDERED EVERYWHERE: about the right to the presidency, as well as the opportunity to get behind the wheel or get married on their own. Sexual and psychological violence, discrimination and bigotry - all of these issues are particularly acute in conservative societies with strong patriarchal traditions. At our request, Aliya Kadyrova, a feminist and a feminist from Almaty, tells how the life of women in Kazakhstan is changing and how it is being discussed.
Kazakhstan society is multicultural, and it’s quite difficult to track how the position of women in it has changed. There is, however, a turning point in the country's history - the arrival of Soviet power in the 1920s: although many women at that time faced serious difficulties, it was then that they finally got the right to education, and a number of national customs like Amengerism - the “transition” of a wife to the brother of her husband in the event of his death - abolished.
Issues of gender discrimination in Kazakhstan have almost never been widely discussed, although from the beginning of the nineties there are organizations in the country dealing with women's rights: "Feminist League of Kazakhstan", "Association of Business Women of Kazakhstan", a branch of UN Women and others. But most of them came from outside influence, grants from foreign funds. Many bills related to gender have emerged as political, image solutions for the country. For example, the law on domestic violence was adopted on the eve of joining the OSCE and until now, according to experts, is incomplete and has a low enforcement practice - the number of appeals on it does not correspond to the real state of affairs.
Gender studies were carried out in the country several times, and issues of gender and gender became the theme of the works of contemporary artists: for example, in 2013, an exhibition entitled “Women’s Business” was held in Almaty. However, gender discrimination has always been discussed only in a narrow circle and was not strongly interested in the majority - unless, of course, periodic considerations in parliament that polygamy are to be allowed to be taken into account. Fortunately, these conversations are usually conducted in jest - it is worthwhile for a deputy to raise this topic, as the media replicate the news, but this is never seriously discussed.
"Do not be silent"
In the summer of this year, the situation changed: several trials were publicized at once. The society had to think about sexism, rooted in Kazakhstani culture, domestic and sexual violence. On June 10, Bayan Esentaeva, a popular film and music producer and one of the country's most famous women, was brutally attacked. The attacker turned out to be her husband - he rushed at the woman with the knife. Two months after the incident, the producer gave the first interview: in her she frankly said that for several years she had been a victim of family violence, her husband threatened to kill her, she lived in fear for a long time and felt that this could happen.
At the end of October, another news thundered: Bayan Esentaeva forgave her husband and refused to accuse him. This decision was discussed a lot on social networks: some approved the act of the producer, as he “strengthens family values”, but many began to say that it is impossible to condemn the victim of such a crime and this is victimization. Nevertheless, Bakhytbek Esentayev, who was accused of attempted murder, was sentenced to nine years in prison. Although Bayan herself later said that she had forgiven her husband and regretted what had happened, this was probably the first time that people had spoken about domestic violence so openly in public space — besides, a well-known woman, who has thousands of views on her, spoke frankly about him.
After the story, Bayan Esentaeva began to actively discuss other high-profile cases related to sexual and domestic violence. In August, a story appeared in the news about Zhibek Musinova, a girl from the city of Esik (Almaty region), who was raped by four men. The case would not have attracted attention if Mom Zhibek had not recorded a video message - in the video a woman told about the incident and that police officers were inactive: a car in which the girl was raped was found 50 meters from the police station. "They probably hoped that I would not write a statement, because we have a big problem with this in Esik. In 99% of cases, raped women do not write statements. It often happens there. But it is not always punished. We have such a society, that it can crush the victim, "Musinova herself told later.
On November 28, the court sentenced four suspects of rape to serious periods - they all received from 8 to 10 years imprisonment. However, it is too early to talk about system changes. After the Zhibek case was publicized, four police officers from the Enbekshikazakh district police department, where the girl had appealed after the rape, were removed from office because of their negligence - but, according to Informburo.kz, at least two of them still continue to work.
The courage of Zhibek and her mother inspired other Kazakh women to talk about their experiences of violence. Producer Dina Smailova, once herself a victim of rape, in the wake of public outrage created the page NeMolchi.kz on Facebook, where women send their stories. Dina Smailova notes that quite often rape victims do not file an application to the police due to the pressure of parents and relatives. Especially often, according to her, this happens in small cities and regions. In his public speeches, Smailov, who is also the president of the public Foundation Tansari, calls on deputies to exclude from the Criminal Code the rule of reconciliation of parties in rape cases.
NeMolchi.kz reminds the Russian and Ukrainian action # ЯНЕ I am afraid to Say - with the only difference that it has now become a social movement that provides rape victims, including Zhibek Musinova, with psychological and legal support. Within a few months, news feeds and social networks filled horrible stories of violence against women. And although many now react to sexist publications (for example, in comments on rape stories full of people who say that it is wrong to “wash dirty linen in public”), dialogue has begun.
What is uyat?
Following the topic of violence in Kazakhstan, the situation of women in general and how their role in society is changing is increasingly being discussed. In April of this year, Asel Bayandarova’s post, attracting almost 20,000 likes, unexpectedly attracted everyone’s attention. Assel talks about the hypocrisy of Kazakhstani society, listing actions that “should” not be done to Kazakhs: to be interested in anatomy, to love sex, to talk about it and not to hide the fact that they have sexual experience. Many Kazakhstani media outlets wrote about the post, but they often paid attention to the photo in a bathing suit, and not to the content of the post:
"Asel Bayandarova told why she was photographed in green shorts", "Asel Bayandarova's post was called" half-naked "in Western publications.
Under the post Asel left more than seven thousand comments. Many readers were indignant ("Does this seem normal to you? A woman stands naked, she is self-possessed? I am ashamed that she is a Kazakh! That's why she is lonely! A normal Kazakh man will not marry her! Shame!") everyone understood her, the girl, as far as I understand, is well past thirty, so she tries to attract attention to herself in different ways. If she were married, there would be completely different thoughts. I am sorry for you "), they said that a woman should be modest ( "Modesty adorns the girl. By your vulgarity you harm your husband or future husband, their children ") and that religion prohibits such behavior (" It’s blasphemy for a Muslim woman (if she is) to become naked during the month of Ramadan). And I don’t think that those who praise her body will praise their daughters and sisters or mothers, if they undress "). But there were those who supported the girl - they even launched a flash mob on social networks.
The theme of shame and that which is permissible and unacceptable in society is discussed not only thanks to bloggers. Talgat Sholtaev suddenly became a meme because he covered the statue of those in love with a handkerchief. Internet users dubbed Sholtayev "yatmen" ("uyat" - shame in Kazakh). Now the word "uyat" is increasingly being used as a synonym for hypocrisy, unnecessary modesty. One of the examples of this is the play “Uyat” based on a play written by political scientist Dosym Satpayev and playwright Natalia Vorozhbit, which was first staged in Almaty in the autumn in the experimental theater ArtiShok. The plot is built around a family where mistrust between children and parents leads to tragic consequences.
Nevertheless, it’s too early to say that Kazakhstan’s society is ready to fight stereotypes and accept the ideas of equality: the majority still do not understand and do not share them. In the spring, the topic of feminism was discussed on Kazakhstani television in the program "Golden Mean". For the TV program, journalists conducted a survey on the streets, and the opinions of passers-by caused laughter through tears (“There are such people, what can you do with them?”, “I'm married, I have children. Of course, I can't be a feminist”).
Talking about "women's" in Kazakhstan remains a game of contrasts: on the one hand, for the majority, feminism is a curse word; on the other hand, there are those who talk about gender issues - with the help of installations, articles, posts and speeches - such as at the TED x Women conferences held in Astana and Almaty in late October, where they talked about age discrimination, " glass ceiling ", violence, lukizme.
Feminism vs. tradition
According to the study "Policies for men and women in modern Kazakhstan," conducted by the Institute of Equal Rights and Opportunities, to the question "Do you think it is necessary to teach Kazakhstanis knowledge that helps overcome stereotypes about men and women," 44% answered "Yes, necessarily "(although 43% were undecided). "Discussions, discussions, info feeds - all this makes problems visible, shows the need to change something," says
Veronika Fonova, a member of the Kazfem initiative group. - Since the founding of the group to this day, I see some positive changes in how they react to our activities. I attribute this to the fact that over the past year there have been more initiatives and people speaking publicly about what was previously considered taboo or shameful. "
But the nascent discussion revealed an unpleasant tendency. The fight against gender stereotypes is mixed in the minds of Kazakhstan with the idea of finding and returning national identity. Many misogynistic rites such as “bride theft” (essentially abduction followed by rape) are called national customs and traditions that supposedly cannot be lost. It is more difficult for women to assert their rights because obsolete traditional ideas about the place of men and women in society are becoming more and more popular - similar sentiments are also found in Russian society. "The problem is that the old definitions and categories are still alive and very powerful. They are frightening a new look at things - an alternative view that is very difficult to find, not relying on the past, not on the notorious" European ", nor on identity, nor on other markers, "says Diana Kudaibergenova, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, who in her work writes about the connection between gender and national identity.
Anyway, the dialogue about the role of women, the problems of violence and domestic sexism in Kazakhstan continues. Even today, for the majority of Kazakhstanis, feminist ideas have something external and seemingly alien, therefore the main task now is not only to talk about the status of women, but also to try to change the situation in practice.
