Part 2. Democratic Youth Organizing

Ruslan loves colorful makeup, jewelry, and gendernon-conforming clothes. To look like this while going through the city of Tashkent would be impossible due to the physical danger it would put the wearer in. Ruslan’s safe spaces are his work, home, and his photo studio, where he can express himself freely. As a continuation of those spaces, he dreams of “developed and tolerant countries, where people think differently”. With her series If There Were No Society (2021) photographer, Kamila Rustambekova explores young people’s desires and dreams. These young people live in Uzbekistan and constantly feel society’s pressure on how to look, how to behave and to self-express.

A post-soviet, oriental environment is aggressive towards everything new and bright. In our society, where oriental mentality and religion dominate, it can be physically dangerous to look the way you feel comfortable. For a couple of hours my heroes appeared before me in their desired looks in places where they feel safe.

— The author explains the idea behind the project.

Similar to Ruslan, Hristina also idealizes Europe as the place to be, and dreams of a full body tattoo mimicking zebra stripes. However, in her environment tattoos are considered to be a mark of belonging to marginalized groups and are associated with prison culture. Dima turns his gaze to the past, to the 18th century “Dreamy Asia” as he calls it, a symbol “of something infinite and wise as the desert, subtle and mysterious as a half-moon in the night, texture in its identity”. In this self-exoticized dream of a fairy-talelike past, where some other mode of existence was possible, one can find refuge and freedom. Marked by age-based hierarchies, Central Asian societies grant only little voice to young people. Decisions that affect them and their futures rarely embrace perspectives coming from the youth. Intensive socio-economic and political transformations that affected the region in the past decades severely limit the ability of young people to actively and meaningfully participate in civil society. The youth of the region, who make up 24 % of the overall population of the Central Asian countries, are particularly exposed to poverty as a result of unemployment, health issues connected to bad infrastructures and environmental degradation, problems related to sexual and reproductive health, and lack of civil rights due to persistent state corruption. Limited knowledge and poor advocacy channels cause youth in the region to experience difficulties in being able to exert influence on their life situation as well as claim their human and democratic rights. Adolescent boys and young men are often forced into labor migration (particularly to Russia) where they are subjected to underpaid work under inhumane conditions. Girls are forced into early marriages in many parts of the region, and as a consequence are deprived of educational and work opportunities and exposed to physical and reproductive violence.

Despite the fact that the legal age to marry for both women and men is 18 years old, arranged and early marriages are often carried out within tight-knit communities with the involvement of religious leaders. It is often the case that marriages are considered legitimate only if they are bound by a nikah ceremony (a religious ceremony for a Muslim couple to be legally wed under Islamic law), even if they ignore governmentmandated registration processes. This puts women in an extremely vulnerable situation since they are not usually entitled to any inheritance from their families. Their new family usually refuses to enter into any bonding contracts or agreements, which leads to situations in which women are forced to stay with an abuser under the threat of being left homeless, jobless, and rejected by their community and families.

While men are less harmed by these practices, they often cannot express their opinions on the marriage since it is the parents of both sides that have the final say. This practice also deprives young men from being in control of their lives. In addition, homosexuality is punishable by law in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and the majority of gay men end up either leaving their arranged marriages or committing suicide.

A prominent photographer from Uzbekistan, Umida Akhmedova, started her series titled Mothers and Daughters-in-law in 2011, in which she captures recently married young women with their mothers-in-law. Despite some shifts from the traditional engagement processes, there is still a high percentage of marriages that are arranged by parents. Mothers-in-law choose future brides for their sons and often are left to live with them if men leave the country for work. Akhmedova portrays the women embracing each other in front of suzani — embroidered tapestry covers and pillows — traditionally gifted during the engagement process and the wedding or brought by a bride as a part of her dowry. Women are photographed wearing traditionally embroidered dresses and headwear; brides display earrings and rings they were gifted by the groom’s side during the engagement.

After the wedding, the bride becomes a kelin, a daughter-in-law, and finds herself at the lowest position in the family hierarchy. This is typical for every country in Central Asia, even the word kelin is universal across the majority of languages in Central Asia. In traditional families, a kelin lives with her husband’s family. Her duties include all household chores, including serving her husband’s parents, her husband, her own children and the children of her husband’s brothers if they live under the same roof. In this case, the housework could be divided among several daughters-in-law. A kelin must obey not only her husband’s will, but also that of other older family members. Mothers-in-law often abuse their powers and create unbearable conditions of living for their daughters-in-law:

The first period lasts from one to three years, until the mother-in-law, so to speak, “calms down” and stops picking on everything she can. You have to be “on the hizmat” (on the serve) all the time and not in any way disobey the older woman at home. In Khujand, you can see this in every other married couple. I myself was able to last three years with my mother-in-law, and then my husband and I moved out to a separate apartment. My husband’s older brother had two wives, and both couldn’t stand it, one after the other they ran away from the oppression of their mother-in-law.

— Zebo, a woman from Tajikistan recalls in her interview to a media outlet Azzatyk.

Although kelin is a life long status, later in life a woman can become a mother-in-law herself and get her own kelin, which in some cases creates a vicious circle of perpetual abuse.

Given the challenges that the young people face across Central Asia, CAG has been providing long-term support to a number of organizations. For example, CAG has been deeply involved and supportive of the Kyrgyzstani organization Novi Ritm. Novi Ritm is a place where young people can get together to discuss, exchange ideas and develop their leadership, teamwork skills and get knowledge on human rights, gender equality, environmental issues, climate change, and conflict prevention. CAG has provided Novi Ritm with capacity building, financial support, coaching, training, and exchange program opportunities for the youth leaders of the organization. One area that CAG focuses on is the foundation of democratic structures within organizations. Many youth organizations are organized in a top-down, hierarchical manner that reflects the tendencies of the societies they emerge from. CAG seeks to discourage these types of organizational structures, and opts to instead support the creation of democratic spaces that function as multicultural meeting places and safe spaces for marginalized communities that can act as incubators for human rights-based youth work and much more. Through our collaboration with Novi Ritm, activists have highlighted this aspect again and again – the value of having a physical place where youth can be and become themselves; where they can develop knowledge, skills and abilities; collaborate and build various initiatives; make an impact on the local and national context. In addition to providing direct support to organizations, CAG has involved young people in long-term internship programs and exchange cycles to promote active democratic engagement, as well as to learn about new contexts and the working methods of grassroots organizations and movements in Sweden.

Kamila Rustambekova (Uzbekistan, b. 1998)

If There Were No Society. Dima (2020)

A young photographer Kamila Rustambekova asked teenagers and young adults from Uzbekistan a simple question: What would you do if there were no society? Dima’s answer is: I would change my looks every day, but in most cases I’d embody my “Dreamy Asia” mood.

Kamila Rustambekova (Uzbekistan, b. 1998)

If There Were No Society. Hristina (2020)

A young photographer Kamila Rustambekova asked teenagers and young adults from Uzbekistan a simple question: What would you do if there were no society? Hristina’s answer is: I would wear everything zebra and would even get a zebra print all over my body.

Kamila Rustambekova (Uzbekistan, b. 1998)

If There Were No Society. Ruslan (2020)

A young photographer Kamila Rustambekova asked teenagers and young adults from Uzbekistan a simple question: What would you do if there were no society? Ruslan’s answer is: I would go out with makeup, I would like to wear makeup all the time, dress beautifully, and emphasize my figure.

Umida Akhmedova (Uzbekistan, b. 1955)

Mothers- and Daughters-in-Law (2011)

In 2010, prominent photographer Umida Akhmedova was convicted of “slander of the Uzbek nation” for her media projects that touched upon gender and human rights issues in rural areas of Uzbekistan.

Kamila Rustambekova (Uzbekistan, b. 1998)

Mothers- and Daughters-in-Law (2011)

The charges against Akhmedova for her photographic and documentary work carried a prison sentence of up to three years. However, the judge granted her an amnesty in honor of the 18th anniversary of Uzbek independence. Since 2010, she can not participate in any official exhibitions in Uzbekistan.

Umida Akhmedova (Uzbekistan, b. 1955)

Mothers- and Daughters-in-Law (2011)

Despite all the controversy, Akhmedova continues to shed light on the lives of women from rural areas. In this series, she examines the complicated relationships between newlywed women and their mothers-in-laws affected by the traditions and patriarchal structures of Uzbek society.