Activism, Civil Society and Rights Based Work in Central Asia 2021

Activism, Civil Society and Rights Based Work in Central Asia Welcome to the exhibition Activism, Civil Society and Rights Based Work in Central Asia!

This exhibition is about four Central Asian countries’ (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan) civil society and its struggle for change and influence in the region. The aim is to shed light on Central Asian actors, their analyses, how they organize themselves and what methods they use to achieve change. All too often people in developing countries like countries in Central Asia are viewed as passive victims in need of help. This perspective fails to account for humans’ capacity to take charge of their own lives and determine their path. In this exhibition we introduce groups, organizations and activist networks that are doing exactly that.

This exhibition was created by Central Asia Solidarity Groups (CAG), with financial support from SIDA and managed through ForumCiv. ForumCiv does not necessarily share the views expressed in this exhibition. The exhibition started touring Sweden’s major cities from the fall of 2016 and will continue doing so throughout the upcoming years.

Central Asia Solidarity Groups

Rights Based Approach (RBA)

Central Asia Solidarity Groups (Swedish: Centralasiengrupperna, CAG) is a politically and religiously independent non-profit organization founded in 2012. Our goal is to promote a democratic Central Asia with a strong, active, competent and inclusive civil society that contributes toward the respect of human rights, the removal of marginalization, and the achievement of social justice. Our geographic focus is on Central Asia that consists of the five post-Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

Since 2009, Central Asia Solidarity Groups have experience in the fields of development cooperation focusing on human rights, democracy, peace and conflict prevention work, youth issues, education and capacity-building efforts in the NGO sector within the Central Asian region. Until 2013, our work was focused on the southern provinces of Kyrgyzstan, but today we also have projects and collaborations in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia and several other neighboring countries.

For many years there have been lively debates within the international aid community about what the relationship between aid organizations and aid benefactors should look like. For a long time the understanding was that aid was to satisfy needs of people who themselves were incapable of satisfying them. However, this approach has been criticized for creating a relationship of dependence and preventing structural change in the long term. The so-called Rights Based Approach (RBA) is an attempt to get away from charity and change the world change the world sustainably in a long-term perspective.

To achieve our mission, we focus on long term solidarity work and close cooperation with civil society actors in Central Asia. In practice, our development collaborations have included a variety of educational efforts, organizational and methodological developments, ongoing activities for young people from minority groups, a number of pilot projects, volunteer services, training workshops, youth exchanges and dissemination work.

RBA defines the two main parties in the development context as rights-holders and duty-bearers. While all humans have rights, the term rights-holders here is meant to signify marginalized groups whose rights are not fulfilled. The term duty-bearers describes those with power, such as the state. Within RBA, and in contrast to older development models, the challenges faced by rights-holders are not seen as unsatisfied needs, but as unfulfilled rights.

RBA emphasizes both the importance of structural change, and the process of change itself, rather than focusing solely on problem solving. This means that right-holders receive support in the form of knowledge, contacts, and methods in order to empower them to demand duty-bearers the fulfillment of their rights. This exhibition wants to illustrate what a Rights Based Approach to development can look like in practice.

We operate within four thematic working areas: 1. Democratic youth organizing 2. Gender 3. Conflict transformation 4. Climate and environment Aside from our work in Central Asia we also engage in a number of local projects in Sweden, as well as international information and advocacy work. Since 2014, we have organized the annual conference, Central Asia Days. Our ambition is to function as a platform for people who want to get engaged in issues concerning the region – should you be interested in getting active, there are many ways for you to get involved in our activities! While we prioritize ideas that fit our four thematic areas of focus, we would love to hear any other ideas or suggestions you may have as well!

Check out www.centralasien.org or contact us at info@centralasien.org for more information.

How You Can Support You can become a member of CAG. For your convenience, and to ensure a stable budget for our long-term efforts, the membership fee is paid via monthly direct debit. Within CAG, untied funds such as membership fees are used directly to cover the costs of our projects and collaborations in Central Asia (that is, not for administration in Sweden). In other words, it is thanks to your support that we can facilitate people’s struggle for influence, democracy and rights in post-Soviet Central Asia.

The membership fee is 25kr a month or more.

You can apply for membership online, at www.centralasien.org

We also support some of the initiatives and projects featured in this exhibition financially, so they can implement their planned initiatives and achieve their set goals. All the organizations and initiatives are based on actual local needs and have the potential to scale up and can leave a significant social imprint. The partners we work with also find it difficult to get funding from other sources, such as international donors or state/municipal support, either because they work with controversial topics such as feminism and LGBTQ, or deviate from the mainstream’s view of development such as permaculture and food sovereignty.

In addition to holding workshops, lectures and webinars on topics that raise the level of knowledge about partnerships and collaborations, we have a wide network of organizations, researchers and activists that we can involve in gaining expertise in the numerous fields. These include human rights, security routines, change models, project planning, peace and security,environment and climate, and much more. In close collaboration with our partners, we usually conduct research and compile publications to produce new knowledge about the issues we work with. We also dispatch staff and trainees on-site for more ongoing support toward the implementation of the initiatives at the local level. Finally, another important role filled by Central Asia Solidarity Groups is to work with partners on long-term planning so that their goals can be accomplished over an extended period of time, with greater access to autonomous funding.

You can support these initiatives through a donation of any amount to the CAG bank account: Swish: 1233698479 Bankgiro: 316-1338

About Central Asia Central Asia comprises five Post-Soviet countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The region is located right in the center of the Eurasian continent and stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China in the east and from Afghanistan in the south to Russia in the north.

As a region, Central Asia is of major strategic importance due to its geographic location and natural resources. The region has extensive untapped reserves of gas and oil, as well as coal, chrome, zinc, and uranium. Being conveniently located between Europe and Asia, it has attracted the attention of great powers such as China, the USA, Russia, and others for many different reasons.

India, and China. Throughout the centuries, Central Asia was dominated by Iranians, a Turkic people that heavily influenced their culture and customs. After the fall of the Timilian Empire, the rivaling tribes came under control of the Russian Empire, and later naturally became part of the Soviet Union. Thus, it has witnessed tremendous amount of historical incidences and every major religion has passed through Central Asia, including Buddhism, Islam, Zoroastrianism. All five states of Central Asia attained their independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and pursued their own paths toward nation-building and selfdetermination in the international arena as independent states.

Almost every state has unsettled border issues with one another that increase hostile tendencies in the region. Early Soviet rule ensured that no Soviet republic would have an easy succession from the union and drew borders that did not take into account ethnicity thus creating large minorities in every country. Fergana Valley, which is shared by three countries of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, ended up with the most complex and sensitive border delineations. Unsettled borders often become a point of contention among these three countries, causing armed conflicts on the borders whether between countries or local populations. This leads to hundreds of deaths on both sides, and the destruction of innocent civilians’ homes and property.

Central Asia is relatively a young region with only thirty years of independent history and is still forming its complex political systems and societies. The region continues to undergo political readjustment from the old socialist policies of the Soviet Union to new democratic systems. These systems are often subject to high levels of authoritarian rule and corruption in both business and politics. In the international arena, Central Asian republics have unflattering reputations when it comes to human rights, freedom of expression, suppressive legislations that limits operation of its civil societies, torture, persecutions, and many other issues.

Newly independent states faced tremendous challenges at their time of independence. It is widely claimed that Central Asian leaders were unintentional founding fathers. Nevertheless, the leaders were aware of the highly vulnerable conditions of their nations as premature states.

Economies of Central Asian countries were seriously damaged by the collapse of the USSR: the absence of central management obscured an immediate recovery of common regional systems such as water and electricity supplies. In addition to the disappearance of central structures, Central Asian states stopped receiving subsidies from Moscow that had long helped feed Central Asia’s increasing population. The nations were left in a predicament with a choice of liberating their economies, followed by economic shocks and severe impoverishment of their populations, or opting, as some Central Asia states did, to rely heavily on natural resources and take a path of gradual transition from a planned economy to an open market economy.

Increasingly, Central Asia finds itself in a situation that is similar to the “Great Game” of the 19th century between Great Britain and the Russian Empire. The new great game of the 21st century started after 9/11 events and Central Asia found itself between Russia, the USA, China, Turkey and to some extent Iran. For the United States and its allies, the region became a valuable supply hub for the Afghanistan war effort until 2014. For Russia, it is an arena in which to exert its traditional sphere of influence. For China, it is a source of energy and a critical partner for stabilizing and developing the restive Xinjiang province in the country’s west.

Historically, Central Asia has long been populated by nomadic peoples, composed of numerous tribes and served as a crossroads between different civilizations since the earliest times.

The Silk Road connected the nomadic cultures of Central Asia with the people of Europe,

Kazakhstan The Republic of Kazakhstan the largest country in Central Asia and the ninth largest in the world, has a long peculiar history, culture and span of development. In the 18th century, Kazakhs formally joined the Russian Empire for protection and economic reasons. The Kazakh khans pursued protection from Dzhungar invasions and took an oath of alliance with the Russian Empire.

This was strategically important for the Kazakh people in terms of not only security, but also for trading purposes. Later in 1920, Kazakhstan became an autonomous republic of the USSR that until 1925 was called the Kyrgyz Autonomous Province to distinguish Kazakh people from Russia’s Cossacks. In 1925 Kazakhstan became an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR, the Kazakh ASSR. During the collectivization period, Soviet citizens were encouraged to cultivate northern parts of the country, and nomadic Kazakhs were forced to settle down. Mass immigration took place in which ethnic Ukranians and Russians were relocated to the fertile steppes to cultivate them. This resulted in the eviction of many Kazakh people from their own lands.

Forced settlement, imposed agriculture and cattle (with limited pasture land) and production plans from Soviet central government depleted a great number of resources, which led to massive death of animals This resulted in the great famine in 1931 that decimated a third of the ethnic Kazakh population. Further, from the beginning of the 19th century to the first third of the 20th century, around 400,000 Russians along with 1,000,000 Slavs, Germans, Jews, and others immigrated to the region. This influx of immigrants naturally led to the outnumbering of ethinc Kazakhs, especially after the famine, and pushed aside ethinc Kazakhs from their pastures and fertile lands. Between 1954 to 1956, the Virgin and Idle Lands project of the USSR brought thousands of Russians and Ukrainians into the rich agricultural lands of northern Kazakhstan. This had a heavy influence on the region’s culture, diversity and local ethnic populations. After the breakup of the

Soviet Union, large numbers of ethnic minorities left Kazakhstan through different repatriation programs, while similar programs led to the repatriation of roughly one million ethnic Kazakhs in Kazakhstan. This dramatic demographic shift has also undermined the previous religious diversity and made the country more than 70 percent Muslim. Kazakhstan’s economy is considerably larger than the other four Central Asian countries due to the country’s large share of natural resources.

According to the organization Human Rights Watch, there has been no meaningful improvement to Kazakhstan’s poor human rights record in 2018. Restrictions remain on peaceful protests, trade unions as well as on the work of civil society. Independent journalists, rights activists and opposition members or supporters are harassed, tortured or imprisoned under vague and politically motivated charges. These issues have gained increased attention following the shift of power in March 2019, when the country’s long-serving first president Nursultan Nazarbayev resigned. Following his resignation, the parliament voted in favour of changing the name of the country’s capital from Astana to Nur-Sultan, in order to commemorate the first president.

The senate chairman Kassym-Jomart Tokayev assumed the position of interim president and was later re-elected to become president following the national elections in June 2019. What the change of power entails for the developments in Kazakhstan still remains to be seen.

Having ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women as well as having adopted a constitution that guarantees equality before the law and courts together with a nationally coordinated gender equality Action Plan does not offer enough protection for women in Kazakhstan as they continue to face a widespread gender-based discrimination. Kazakhstan’s anti-discrimination

Area: 2,725,000 sq km Population: 18,520,884 Date of independence: December 16, 1991 Capital: Nur-Sultan Ethnic groups: Kazakh (63%), Russian (24%), Uzbek (3%) Religion: Islam (70% of the population)

laws have failed to produce any prosecutions, and Kazakhstani NGOs have long called them insufficient to address gender inequality. The rise of non-consensual bride kidnapping is an increasing problem in Kazakhstan. The majority of young women who are kidnapped against their will, remain in these marriages to avoid the shame and stigma of returning home.

Kazakhstan highly restricts media freedoms.

Independent journalists and media outlets face harassment and interference in their work, and outlets have been shut down in recent years such as Ratel.kz in 2018. The same year, Aset Mataev, an imprisoned journalist, was denied parole despite his eligibility after serving one third of his term. Problematic amendments to media and information law were adopted in April of 2018 empowering authorities to arbitrary and falsely detain journalists.

LGBT+ people in Kazakhstan live in a climate of fear fueled by harassment, discrimination, and violence. On the rare occasions when LGBT+ people report abuse, they often face indifference and hostility. Parliament passed bills that sought to introduce a broad ban on propaganda of nontraditional sexual orientation, but final drafts were not made public and the end-stage of the legislative process was non-transparent.

Kazakhstan was the first to put forward the idea of creating the Eurasian Union back in 1994.

From the very beginning, Kazakhstan wanted the Eurasian Union to be purely economic, without any political dimension despite its current view as a rather political tool of Russia. Together with Belarus and Russia, Kazakhstan signed a treaty establishing the Eurasian Economic Union in May, 2014. Today, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan are also part of this regional club.

Adil Soz Adil Soz is one of Kazakhstan’s most veteran rights organizations, standing up for freedom of expression and the press, and defending journalists from increasing repression.

Adil Soz protest action in support of journalists.

Kazakhstan has recently been witnessing a government crackdown on independent media.

When in 2016 the country was shaken by large scale protests against a planned land reform, over 50 reporters covering the demonstrations were detained. Several prominent journalists have since been sentenced to long prison terms.

In addition, countless social media users and bloggers are serving sentences for posts critical of the president or discussing other sensitive matters. Others have fled the country to avoid repression.

Due to these developments, the work of NGOs like Adil Soz is more important than ever. The International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech Adil Soz, as it is officially known, was started in 1999, which makes it one of the most senior civil rights groups in Kazakhstan. Based in Kazakhstan’s main city, Almaty, with a staff of about a dozen jurists and (former) journalists, the group monitors freedom of speech violations, provides legal aid to media organizations, and does advocacy on behalf of the independent press and persecuted journalists.

With authoritarian tendencies in the country on the increase, however, their work has become more and more difficult in recent years. “We used to be able to hold rallies”, Tamara Kalayeva, the group’s chairperson, remembers, “but now, all forms of protest are basically banned.” Pickets, even of single individuals, require official permits, which are practically never granted. In order to get their message out, rights defenders like Adil Soz need to get creative. To protest the recent imprisonment of high profile journalists, Tamara Kalayeva and her colleagues wore matching t-shirts with the prisoners’ faces on them.

“Wearing t-shirts is still legal”, she laughs.

In addition to actions like this, Adil Soz frequently works with artists to bring the plight of journalists to the public’s attention. The walls of the organization’s headquarters are adorned with frames displaying the winning submissions of past cartoon competitions dealing with freedom of speech, organized by Adil Soz. On May 3rd, World Press Freedom Day, the organization cooperated with an independent theater company to put on a play to mark the day.

Given the authoritarian nature of the regime, though, rights defenders like Adil Soz are themselves always at risk. Various never ending bureaucratic audits are a common form of state harassment. Extreme diligence and obedience to the letter of the law is paramount to avoid giving the authorities a reason to shut them down.

But even though almost everything ultimately depends on the will of those in power, and although the general outlook is gloomy, Tamara Kalayeva remains optimistic. “Many of the court cases our legal experts work on end successfully”, she says. There have been some victories in the legislative realm as well. According to recent changes, which Adil Soz had long lobbied for, it is now more difficult to sue journalists for defamation when somebody does not like how they have been portrayed. “Offending somebody no longer carries a potential jail sentence either. It is a modest success, but it shows that improvements are possible”, Tamara Kalayeva says.

Follow Adil Soz on facebook (posts in Kazakh and Russian): @adilsoz.kz or visit their webpage: http://www.adilsoz.kz/site/index/lang/en

“We used to be able to hold rallies”, Tamara Kalayeva, the group’s chairperson, remembers, “but now, all forms of protest are basically banned.”

Adil Soz President Tamara Kaleyeva, at her office in Almaty.

An Adil Soz protest action in support of jailed journalist Zhanbolat Mamay.

“Together we are strong”; Adil Soz protest action.

Alma-TQ Alma-TQ is a transgender initiative that aims to improve the quality of life of transgender people and strengthen the community of transgender and gender non-conforming people in Kazakhstan through community support, development of a social support system, and advocacy.

Life for trans people in Kazakhstan is marked by stigma and complex bureaucratic obstacles. Like in other countries in the region, trans people are at risk of discrimination and violence due to the high level of societal transphobia and the threat of ostracization from their families. Therefore, most of them choose not to disclose their gender identity and remain invisible. Further, changing one’s gender in official identification documents involves a complicated and often humiliating bureaucratic process. According to the Marriage and Family Code, those who identify as transgender can change their name and gender marker only after “gender reassignment surgery”.

As studies have shown, most transgender people are not ready for such operations; however, almost all of them need new documents to be able to get an education, find a job, freely cross international borders, move within the country.

Any situation in which ID is required presents the threat of discrimination.

In 2014 a group of trans persons in Kazakhstan’s biggest city Almaty began working to change this situation, and subsequently started the country’s first advocacy group of its kind, the Transgender Initiative Alma-TQ, to protect the rights of transgender people. While based in Almaty, the small group of activists have a network of supporters across the country. In addition, Alma-TQ is a member of Transgender Europe and cooperates with like-minded organizations across the Post-Soviet countries.

For security reasons Alma-TQ’s activists do not come out publicly, and most of their work takes place behind the scenes. “We pursue various goals”, the coordinator of the Trans Health program of Alma-TQ explains. “For example, we find reliable doctors for trans persons to get help from, and help people get in touch with them. We also provide trans people with information about their rights when it comes to officially changing their gender, both socially and legally. We also have a website that is updated with useful materials for transgender people and allies in Russian and Kazakh languages.”

As things are now, anyone seeking to transition is required to appear and plead their case before a government commission based in Almaty.

Though this appearance is supposed to initiate the transition process, people have previously been turned down for not already looking male or female enough.

“During our work, we have prepared a number of reports together with other human rights organizations to UN committees and have received recommendations on the need to change the procedure for medical examination and the procedure for legal gender recognition; several studies and analytical reports on the situation of transgender people in Kazakhstan have been issued, and there are also a number of trans-focused publications in Kazakhstani and international media “, says one of the founders of Alma-TQ. “There is now enough information confirming the need to change discriminatory procedures and improve the quality of life of transgender people in Kazakhstan, but due to the high level of transphobia, all these processes are moving very slowly “.

While gender transition prospects used to have to appear in front of twelve experts, the commission is now usually smaller. In addition, Alma-TQ’s activists have been able to get more competent experts to join the commission. By building relationships with these government experts Alma-TQ has been enabling them to receive people more sensitively and come to more considered decisions. “Our greatest goal would be to have corrective genital surgery scrapped as a requirement for officially changing one’s documents, and for the entire process to be de-pathologized” one of the activists says. “But unfortunately abolishing this entire procedure is not a realistic demand at this point”, he continues.

“People are subjected to patronizing comments such as that they would never be real men since they have too pretty eyes”, one of Alma-TQ’s activists explains.

While Kazakhstan is certainly no easy place for trans people, the activists of Alma-TQ feel that things are moving forward. “There is no legislation directly targeting LGBT people, and attempts to have such legislation introduced have been defeated”, one of the activists says. Some victories have even been won in unexpected places. When a trans woman from a small town in northern Kazakhstan had her request to change her identification documents refused, a local court ruled in her favor, citing international principles on trans-rights, setting an exciting precedent for the whole country. When government officials there held a roundtable to further discuss the matter, members of Alma-TQ were invited to participate as expert advisors.

Fear of being refused by the commission has put people in a position where they began transitioning in preparation for their appearance.

However, transitioning without the corresponding identification documents can lead to serious problems in other spheres of life, such as a person’s chances of finding and keeping employment. One of Alma-TQ’s key successes has been a reform to the functioning of this commission.

Follow Alma-TQ on facebook: @AlmaTQKZ and for more information visit their www.alma-tq.org

Feminita Feminita is a queer feminist grassroots organization based in Almaty, Kazakhstan that raises issues of LGBTQ people’s rights, questions patriarchal norms, conducts training on how to organize a vibrant civil society, as well as serving as a platform for the country’s feminist activists and advocating for lesbian, bisexual, queer, and transgender women in Kazakhstan.

Feminita is a queer feminist grassroots organization based in Almaty, Kazakhstan that raises issues of LGBTQ people’s rights, questions patriarchal norms, conducts training on how to organize a vibrant civil society, as well as serving as a platform for the country’s feminist activists and advocating for lesbian, bisexual, queer, and transgender women in Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan’s society is very patriarchal, and the vast majority of decision-making positions are male-dominated. Women get paid about 70% of what their male counterparts get for the same work. Motherhood is commonly considered women’s primary role in society. For queer women who do not conform to traditional gender roles, this results in double discrimination.

It is to combat this double discrimination that in March 2016 a small group of women started the Kazakhstan Feminist Initiative Feminita.

According to Zhanar Sekerbayeva, one of Feminita’s co-founders, the initiative has two main tasks: 1) international and local advocacy and 2) educational work on the issues of sexuality, identity, feminism, and queer theory.

“We see feminism as a human rights movement.

Since in Kazakhstan, women, and especially lesbian, bi and queer women, do not count as people, this is what we focus on”, Zhanar Sekerbayeva explains.

As the country’s first organization devoted specifically to the struggle for lesbian, bi and queer (and later – trans women’s) women’s rights, one of Feminita’s first major projects was to survey the field and learn more about the lives and challenges faced by the LBQ community. In a large-scale research project, they conducted surveys and in-depth interviews with over 200 women across the country. While researchers have previously investigated conditions of the LGBTQ community in general, this was the first time that the particularities of female members of that community were looked at more closely.

Another aspect of Feminita’s work has been to conduct training programs for open-minded psychologists. “We know many LBQ women are in need of psychological support, but finding psychologists that can help is difficult”, Gulzada Serzhan, another Feminita’s co-founders explained. “Many psychologists are either apprehensive to help for fear of being associated with lesbianism, or are very insensitive, telling their clients to just find a man and get married, like a ’normal’ woman.”

Further, since 2017, “Feminita” has been advocating the abolition of the list of prohibited occupations for women in Kazakhstan. Such discriminatory provisions existed in the national legislation, which barred women from exercising their right to work and freely choose an occupation. Throughout the year of 2020, “Feminita” actively campaigned to complement its advocacy effort. As a result, the same year, the Ministry of Justice in Kazakhstan revoked the list of prohibited occupations for women and introduced a new law that eliminates discrimination as such, and will be enacted by the end of 2021.

Human Rights defenders in Kazakhstan continue facing physical and verbal threats, acts of intimidation, judicial harassment, and arbitrary detention; their work continues to be hindered by legislative obstacles that vastly infringe on their rights to freedom of association, assembly, and expression, as well as human rights monitoring and promotion.

One of the influential efforts of Feminita was delivering an alternative report prepared in collaboration with a transgender organization AlmaTQ to the CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of discrimination Against Women). The report raised the issues of stereotypes and harmful practices, gender-based violence against LGBT women, participation of women in political and public life and the health of LGBT women.

As a result, in the third cycle of UPR review, Kazakhstan has received 11 recommendations urging the state to “adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation that includes an explicit prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity”, which continues to be an important issue for the communities Feminita represents. Kazakhstan has accepted one recommendation on LGBTI human rights defenders. Unfortunately the 10 recommendations calling for non-discrimination protection on the basis of SOGI were only noted.

Feminita is eager to continue advocating for the equality and respect of LGBTQ+ women and stands ready to work with the Kazakhstani government on the implementation and follow-up of all SOGI recommendations.

Despite this, things in Kazakhstan are not as dire as, for example, in Russia. Homophobic hysteria is not part of public discourse to the same extend as it has been made to be there, and in some cases the stereotypes of those in power actually can work in favor of groups like Feminita. “Since it is men that traditionally hold power, we are not seen as a serious threat” Gulzada Serzhan explains. “While this does not do us justice, it can work in our favor” she says with a smile.

On the whole, Gulzada Serzhan is hopeful about the future. “The young generation, growing up with the internet, have access to so much more information. They are more open minded”, she says.

Follow Feminita on facebook (posts in English and Russian): @kazFeminita

The Ecological Society Green Salvation An Almaty- based environmental organization protecting the people’s right to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.

Ravil Nasyrov of the Ecological Society Green Salvation is taking footage of the Kaskelen gorge at the IleAlatau National Park. This is part of the organization’s monitoring of national parks in the Almaty region.

“The ecological situation in the 1970s and 1980s started to deteriorate drastically. One could see the smog hanging all over the city,” says Sergey Kuratov, mountain sports lover and one of the founders of Green Salvation. When Kazakhstan’s democratization processes started in the 1990s, Sergey Kuratov and his fellow mountain sports lovers saw an opportunity to create an organization, turning their love for nature into a passion to preserve it. Since then, some founders have left the organization and new members have joined, but the mission of the Ecological Society remained the same.

Green Salvation operates mainly in four ways: 1. Data collection on the environmental situation in Kazakhstan.

The organization does research and compiles available statistics and resources to produce articles and publications with the goal to inform the public on environmental challenges in Kazakhstan.

2. Advocacy and monitoring.

The organization monitors the observance of national legislation and international agreements and takes part in campaigns.

For example, it was actively involved in the anti-nuclear campaign against importing radioactive waste from other countries and burying it in Kazakhstan.

The establishment of Green Salvation preceded even the independence of Kazakhstan. Therefore, from the outset, it was involved in parliamentary working groups on environmental issues and contributed to drafting legislation. These experiences helped to build the organization’s institutional knowledge, which serves useful today in its active monitoring and litigation.

In 2004, the organization appealed to the Aarhus Convention’s Compliance Committee, a convention on access to information and justice in environmental matters as well as public participation in decision-making. The Green Salvation became the first organization from Central Asia and Europe that brought a case before the Committee. This occasion is also marked as the beginning of the organization’s referrals to international conventions. Later in 2013, Green Salvation together with other civil society organizations felt compelled to address the Compliance Committee of the Aarhus Convention again. In all these cases, the Committee recognized non-compliance

by Kazakhstan on several provisions. However, the decisions of the Committee were not implemented at the local level. Rejections and prolonged proceedings in courts are common in the work of Green Salvation – a case can move from one year to another making it difficult for the organization to make long-term plans.

3. Environmental awareness and education.

The organization produces bulletins, special courses, textbooks, articles and videos. To date, over 30 publications about the environmental situation in Kazakhstan have been shared in Russian, Kazakh and English. Also, the organization representatives present their work during training programs and conferences.

4.Consulting and defending people’s right to live under favorable environmental conditions.

On an annual basis the organization offers more than 200 legal consultations on different ecological issues as well as files and leads around ten court cases.

There have been times when the organization’s efforts are crowned with success. For instance, Green Salvation strongly opposed the construction of the “Moinak Electricity Transmission Project” because its two overhead transmission lines were planned to cross the territory of the Charyn and Altyn-Emel National Parks. The World Bank accepted their complaint and demanded its local partners to change the project and place the transmission lines outside the territory of the national parks. Government agencies changed their original decision and supported Green Salvation in this matter. Moreover, the organization’s activities have contributed to the halt of the destruction of the World Heritage Site of Talgar, not far from Almaty, and the suspension of the construction of a ski resort, where the territory would have been taken from a national park. Successful cases like these motivate the active members, staff and other volunteers of the organization to continue their work, and when they feel drained and low, they climb up the mountains and spend time in nature to re-energize.

Sergey Kuratov, the founder of Ecological Society Green Salvation is together with government representatives visiting the riverbank which has been cleared of construction waste, in the Kimasarovsky gorge of the Ile-Alata National Park.

As a result of the actions of the Ecological Society Green Salvation and the public, the World Heritage Site of Talgar was completely fenced, cattle grazing and traffic in the area was stopped.

Svetlana Spatar of the Ecological Society Green Salvation is inspecting the damage caused to trees on a construction site together with state representatives and a journalist.

The Illegal construction of a highway through the World Heritage Site Talgar.

The highway completely destroyed the southern part of the settlement.

Institute of equal rights and equal opportunities “Individual initiatives are not heard. The authorities in Kazakhstan only listen to those who have an institutional approach, a specific concept and an elaborate program when promoting a social agenda,” says Margarita Uskembayeva, child psychologist, who, therefore, registered the Public Foundation Institute of equal rights and equal opportunities in 2010.

At the time of the organization’s establishment, Kazakhstan had the highest suicide rate in the world among people aged 15-19. It was second for suicide among teenage boys and first among suicide for teenage girls. Margarita Uskembayeva used the skills from her profession to conduct suicide interventions and to research “contemporary reasons for suicide among young girls between 15 and 19 years old”. The Foundation combines academic and activist methods in its work. In order to map and understand social issues in communities, the project team conducts research using questionnaires, focus groups and interviews. The findings from their research allow them to create a comprehensive plan to work with the studied issues. To address the acute problem of the high suicide rate among teens, the Foundation created a project called “Girl’s rights to life” that targeted young girls aged 15-19. As part of the project, trainers led sessions on suicide prevention, sexual harassment, domestic violence, early marriages and pedophilia. During such sessions, the Foundation meets inspired girls who join the Foundation as volunteers and become socially active in their respective communities.

Also, the Foundation focuses on advocacy and believes in the importance of using mass media to draw public attention to the issues of gender equality and the socio-psychological wellbeing of Kazakhstani people – two thematic program areas of the Foundation. Members of the Foundation are very active online, commenting on events and offering their perspectives by writing posts and articles.

Margarita says, “it’s essential for us to keep an active online presence because many women who contact our Foundation learn about us on the Internet”.

Some women reach out to the Foundation by calling its hotline. Those are the women who are victims of domestic violence. Many cases of domestic violence remain unreported in Kazakhstan; hence it is difficult to share the total number but suffice it to say that it is a serious issue in this patriarchal society. To support and empower women who have suffered physical, psychological, economic and sexual violence, the Foundation has opened a shelter under the name “ARASHA” in 2017. The project was formed by the vision that everyone has the right to safety and the right to freedom from violence and fear of violence. Since it opened hundreds of women and their children, around 25 at a time have stayed in the shelter for up to 6 months and received a range of services from medical and psychological support, economic and legal assistance to socio-economic guidance. After completing an individually-tailored rehabilitation and resocialization program, women re-enter job markets, children continue their education and some individuals remain active in their communities further empowering other women.

A training session on the standards of social services offered to victims of domestic violence given to teachers and psychologists.

Celebrating Child protection on June 1st at the shelter.

Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law The most prominent human rights organization in Kazakhstan with it’s main office in Almaty and 12 branches across the country.

A meeting gathering human rights defenders in Kazakhstan.

Back in 1991 when Kazakhstan became independent, human rights was an unknown concept to many in the country. Led by today’s eminent Kazakh human rights defender, then an engineer, Evgeny Zhovtis, an initiative to promote people’s civil and political rights was born and joined by a few other human rights enthusiasts. A few years later, in 1994, the group registered as an organization in order to have a legal ground to consult and lobby the newly formed government.

The same year, it organized its first conference on human rights in Almaty expecting to have around 50 people, yet the turnout reached over 150 participants. This was a sign of an increasing interest in human rights, however, there remained misconceptions about their work by the public.

For instance, people would contact them to help with a neighbor who flooded their apartment or regarding a dog who is causing disturbances in their neighborhood .

The first project of the Bureau was timely as ever.

It was aimed to increase the knowledge of human rights in remote areas and it was implemented in partnership with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Today, the Bureau continues to organize seminars, trainings and roundtables for law enforcement agencies, civil society activists, teachers and students at schools and universities. Its website and the online library serve as an educational platform for many and especially for students. They contain publications about the Bureau’s work and the overall human rights situation in the country and other human rights documents translated into Russian. Moreover, the external relations department in the Bureau produces handbooks on various themes and publishes daily online bulletins. On a daily basis, there is an average of 2000 visits on the Bureau’s website and 8000 visits on its social media accounts.

Another part of the Bureau’s work is consulting.

There are jurists in every office consulting victims and assisting them in getting access to a lawyer and taking legal action. Due to limited funding, most often the Bureau reaches out to lawyers who care about its work and who can provide their services for lesser remuneration. Working with consulting individuals demands a lot of time and human resources which paralyzes the Bureau’s ability to be as fully invested in their main activity.

For its work, the Bureau was regularly checked by government agencies, it has been named a “foreign agent” and “the enemy of the people and the state” and received constant threats. Some of its outspoken journalists have been imprisoned.

Also, the office of the Bureau has been robbed, the tax authorities tried to close it down and it has even been set on fire. After all of this, the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law continues its active promotion of political rights and civil liberties across the country and has no intention to stop.

The Bureau’s main activity is monitoring the observance of political rights and civil liberties in Kazakhstan. Both the Kazakh and the international community rely upon the Bureau’s alternative reports to evaluate the human rights situation in the country. The Bureau actively demands the Kazakh government to fulfill the obligations it assumed when joining international organizations and signing international treaties on human rights. It condemns all government actions that restrict human rights. It also analyzes and comments on legislation making and other processes that affect human rights. Its critiques are not welcomed and recommendations are rarely considered.

Journalists protesting in Almaty.

MediaNet One of the few independent media organizations in Kazakhstan, supporting the development of civil society through strengthening the capacities of free and unbiased mass media.

Over the years, MediaNet has focused on the issues related to fact-checking and media literacy, by conducting up-to-date research, raising awareness and leading workshops.

In a country where freedom of speech and assembly remains restricted, critical journalists are imprisoned and independent media organizations are forced to shut down, MediaNet has managed to operate for over a decade!

In 2004, four journalists noticed a shortage of qualified journalists in the country. The formal education offered by the Journalism Faculties at state universities lagged in new developments.

Motivated by the need and the desire to share their knowledge, the group registered MediaNet as an organization and started their first project called “Media School”. MediaNet has implemented other educational programs over the years involving thousands of people, but the Media School has been the organization’s longest running project and it is still ongoing in Kazakhstan’s two biggest cities of – Almaty and Nur-Sultan. In total 800 people aged between 15-45, coming from different professional backgrounds took part in educational workshops in, among others, journalism ethics, data visualization, multimedia journalism, investigative journalism, public speaking, blogging, photojournalism and fact-checking.

MediaNet is similarly involved in promoting human rights journalism. Following the request from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), MediaNet created content for an online course for journalists interested in the professional coverage of human rights. The course offers comprehensive training on the four universal rights of the right to freedom of speech, the right to freedom from torture, the right to freedom from slavery and the right to freedom of movement.

Meanwhile, independent and human rights journalists are increasingly under pressure from authorities in Kazakhstan. Non-governmental organizations are labeled as foreign agents and enemies of the country, especially by progovernment media outlets. In the meantime, a very small proportion of the population understands the role of civil society and NGOs. To address this gap, MediaNet introduced a project targeted at the broader public with the aim to reframe narratives about non-governmental organizations and civil society. They do this by engaging their online audience in discussions and by sharing real examples of civil society’s positive impact on society on social networks and main media outlets.

While some projects are born as a reaction to local needs, others are inspired by practices in partner countries. Study visits to Ukraine and the United States motivated Adil Jalilov, the founder of MediaNet, to launch Central Asia’s first factchecking resource (Factcheck.kz). The project aims to fight against unreliable information, fake news and information manipulation by verifying popular news, facts, figures and statements of public persons.

The Annual Central Asian Internet Forum on “Internet Development in Central Asia” was organized by MediaNet. It covered the issues of the internet’s main technological and legal trends.

In addition to working with building capacity of media practitioners and actively ensuring good quality journalism, MediaNet is involved in research and producing publications. Within the Demoscope project (demos.kz), experts analyze the public’s views on trending topics by conducting phone polls and organizing focus groups to better understand society’s needs and views.

Moving forward, MediaNet wants to grow regionally and internationally and to decrease its dependence on a single donor from 30% to 8% by using crowdfunding and other modern tools to fundraise.

Media School Astana

Fact check training covering methodology and tools for fact checking

Shyrak Shyrak is an advocacy group, based in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, that represents the interests of and unites women with disabilities.

“Hug me” action at closing ceremony of the first school of independent life for girls with disabilities from Central Asian countries, Arbat, Almaty, 2013.

Like in many other parts of the world, attitudes toward people with disabilities in Kazakhstan are often marked by stereotypes. Wheelchair users and others with visible physical disabilities, for example, are used to being offered handouts by passersby who see them as helpless victims, or having busses go past them without stopping, as drivers cannot imagine them having their own errands to run. The Association of Women with Disabilities Shyrak fights to eradicate such attitudes and ensure people with disabilities, especially women, are able to live their lives as equal members of society. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Kazakhstan’s former capital and largest city Almaty, Shyrak unites around 300 women and girls with various types of disabilities.

“Part of our mission is to show that we are normal people, with a different lifestyle”, Zakhira Begaliye-va, Shyrak’s project coordinator, says.

One of the ways the organization has spread this message has been to organize flash mobs in shopping malls and on city squares, offering hugs to people passing by. “At first people would try to avoid us, thinking that we were asking for something”, Zakhira Begaliyeva remembers with a smile. “But then they understood we were actually there to give something, and their attitudes changed.” On other occasions Shyrak has been involved in monitoring and public campaigns aimed at highlighting accessibility issues on public transit.

for example, has ratified the international Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, and Shyrak often plays the role of expert advisor to different state institutions when it comes to implementing policy. “It is possible to affect change for women with disabilities”, Zakhira Begaliyeva says, citing as examples the recent appearance of an accessible gynecological chairs and a maternity ward especially geared toward mothers with disabilities.

Aside from tackling public attitudes and external obstacles, Shyrak itself also provides active support to its community. Among other things the organization offers stipends for vocational trainings, allowing young women with disabilities to gain the qualifications necessary to become economically independent. Another venue for this type of work has been reoccurring summer camps, aimed at improving the self-confidence and independence of girls with disabilities.

Shyrak’s camps are specifically held at sites that host other youth groups as well, something which according to Zakhira Begaliyeva caused confusion at first. “The staff at these sites originally suggested our group eat at specific times, as to not have to share the cafeteria with the other kids.”

Since Shyrak’s mission is to normalize, rather than stigmatize disability, they declined.

“Nowadays you see these kids hanging out together and mingling. It’s just become natural”, Zakhira Begaliyeva says fondly.

Even though stereotypes and accessibility in public space are still major issues, especially in rural areas, Zakhira Begaliyeva is hopeful.

According to her things are better in Kazakhstan than in neighboring countries. Kazakhstan,

Visit the webpage of Shyrak for more information: http://Shyrak.kz/eng/

Seminar of leaders on issues of people with disabilities in Central Asia, Dushanbe, 2014.

“Hug me” action organized together with partners and volunteers at one of the shopping centers in Almaty, 2014.

“Part of our mission is to show that we are normal people, with a different lifestyle”, Zakhira Begaliyeva, Shyrak’s project coordinator, says

Fourth school of independent life for girls with disabilities from Central Asian countries, session on reproductive and sexual health of women with disabilities, Almaty, 2016.

International seminar on creation of Central Asian forum for people with disabilities, Almaty, 2012.

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan gained its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The country was referred to as an “Island of Democracy” during the 1990s and the 2000s. Its independence is marked by coups, most frequently referred to as revolutions. Nationwide demonstrations in the spring of 2005 resulted in the ouster of its first president Askar Akayev, who had fled to Russia. Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who manipulated the parliament to gain new powers for his presidency, replaced him. In April 2010, protests in Bishkek led to the removal of Bakiyev from the office.

He eventually sought an asylum in Belarus. His successor, Roza Otunbaeva, served as a head of interim government until Almazbek Atambayev was inaugurated in December 2011 following peaceful proceedings. Sooronbay Jeenbekov, the protege of Atambayev was elected as the president in 2017. This marked the second peaceful transfer of presidential power in independent Kyrgyzstan’s history. While neighboring countries’ presidents have held onto power for several decades, Kyrgyzstan witnessed yet another coup that was preceded by unfair parliamentary elections. Sooronbay Jeenbekov annulled the election results and resigned afterwards. Sadyr Japarov, often referred to as the self-proclaimed prime minister, took over the political power and paved his way to secure his position.

Kyrgyzstan has long been known to enjoy the most vibrant civil society in Central Asia. Nongovernmental organizations were established after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and aimed to bring justice, fairness and equality in their thematic areas of work. But over the course of three decades, multiple attempts were made to limit the civic space in Kyrgyzstan. As of today, representatives of the civil society are facing repression and increasingly are being targeted by conservative, nationalist, far-right and/ or fundamentalist social forces. Authoritarian and populist moves are introducing arbitrary bureaucratic measures to complicate things further for civil society.

Domestic violence against women and girls remains a serious problem. Despite a new law passed in 2017 on the Prevention and Protection of Family Violence, the absence of enforcement mechanisms and services limits survivors’ access to protection and justice. Pressure to keep families together, stigma, economic dependence, and fear of reprisals by abusers hinder some women from seeking assistance.

Area: 199,950 sq km Population: 6,494,799 Date of independence: 31 August 1991 Capital: Bishkek Ethnic groups: Kyrgyz (72 %), Uzbek (15 %), Russian (5 %) others (5.2%) Religion: Islam (89% of population)

The LGBTQ+ community in Kyrgyzstan experience ill-treatment, extortion, and discrimination from both state and non-state actors. There is widespread impunity for these abuses. Parliament has been considering an anti-LGBTQ bill banning propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations, which aims at silencing anyone seeking to openly share information about same-sex relations in Kyrgyzstan. LGBT+ community is directly discriminated by recently changed constitution that states that the marriage is only possible between a man and a women. On top of that, the adoption of the “anti-gay propaganda” bill copied from Russian law has been considered by the parliament several times.

Arysh Arysh is a Bishkek-based organization of internal migrants and residents of informal settlements working to end structural discrimination against their communities.

Arysh has worked with the issue of internal migrants’ informal settlements since taking shape as an initially unofficial group of five individuals in 1999. The organization has four strategic trajectories: 1. To improve the provision of government services like medical care, education, social services to unregistered internal migrants.

2. To raise the standard of living and incomes in informal settlement communities.

3. To reform Kyrgyzstan’s discriminatory population registration system.

4.To preserve biocultural diversity, including traditional knowledge and practices.

While the organization does engage in policy advocacy, for example by lobbying for simplification of the population registration system with the State Registration Services (GRS) and the Bishkek mayor’s office, they see themselves primarily as a grassroots organization and are most at home in the field. Most of the organization’s paid staff of eight, half of whom live in informal settlements themselves, spends much of their time in the communities they represent, meeting and consulting with residents.

However, according to Arysh’s philosophy, the point is not to solve people’s problems for them.

Instead, their guiding principle is collective self help and self-reliance. As part of this approach, Arysh has been able to spawn numerous mobile teams in many of Bishkek’s informal settlements.

Independently from the organization, these groups of residents offer their neighborhoods help on anything from how to legalize a home built without official permits, to setting up small agricultural projects like backyard greenhouses.

Arysh is proud to thus facilitate the self organization of internal migrant communities. A side effect of this practical everyday work is also a greater mobilization potential during elections.

This makes it harder for the voices of the people of these communities to be ignored, and easier for them to have their rights and interests respected.

Arysh hopes to eventually expand to the rest of the country, and become independent of external donors.

Follow Arysh on facebook (posts in Russian and Kyrgyz): @Arysh.kg

“No one believed internal migrants, with different regional backgrounds and worldviews, could ever self-organize – but we did.” – Mamatkul Aidaraliev, Director of Arysh.

Bishkek Feminist Initiatives Bishkek Feminist Initiatives (BFI) is group of feminist activists whose work is based on the principles of collective emancipation, solidarity, mutual support, equal decision-making and non-violence.

Solidarity March 8, 2019, Bishkek.

BFI can be described as a community of activists creating, nurturing and sharing a common space.

The collective took shape in 2012 as a space for organizing, reflecting, learning and exchanging; for empowering, meeting and supporting one another. This vibrant center has been the staging point for many successful public actions and interventions. Every year on the 8th of March, for example, BFI, together with other groups gather for a peaceful occupation of the premises out front the Presidential Office to mark International Women’s Day. While the collective regularly organizes similar public protests and campaigns, it is actually the day-to-day processes of building feminist community that they consider most important.

In line with the feminist motto of personal being political, and inspired by grassroots organizing principles, BFI works on advocating women rights issues and the feminist agenda through media, education, innovative approaches and public events.

The long term goal of this work is to strengthen and expand the feminist community in Bishkek, and in other regions of Kyrgyzstan. As a result, BFI has already spawned a number of initiatives that are semi-autonomous from the core group, and which operate according to their own feminist perspective. This includes feminist parents groups, book circles, and art initiatives, as well as Girl Activists of Kyrgyzstan and Boktukorgon.

BFI has been one of Centralasiengrupperna’s closest partners in Kyrgyzstan since 2013, having jointly organized a number of projects, including campaigns, trainings and feminist art projects.

Follow BFI on facebook and instagram: @bishkekfeminists

“By living feminism through our practices and interactions, rather than just advocating it, we hope to inspire more people to come out and become conscious feminists.” – BFI activist.

What this means is that feminist practices of mutual respect, shared responsibility and collective emancipation mark all activity the organization.

Preparation for the Solidarity March 8, 2020, Bishkek

Participant of the training for girls from Novostroiki (suburb of Bishkek), 2019

A support group for detainees during the March 8, 2020 March in the courtroom of the Sverdlovsk region, Bishkek

Feminist Art Exhibition Feminnale 2019, Bishkek

Bir Duino The human rights movement “Bir Duino” (“One World”) is one of the most active human rights organizations in Kyrgyzstan that aims to protect the rights of victims of torture and cruel treatment, women, children, migrants and national minorities.

Its goals also include reforming the criminal justice system, reducing disaster risks for local communities in the regions of the country, promoting gender equality and fighting discrimination overall.

In the aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan’s civil society developed a rich array of independent non-governmental and noncommercial organizations working for the public good on a wide range of issues. One of the most established and well known of these NGOs today is Bir Duino. The organization grew out of anticorruption movements in the early 2000s. It sees its mandate as ensuring the full implementation of civil, political, cultural, and economic rights as well as the protection of the political space of NGOs and human rights defenders. This is because one of the main goals of the organization is to promote the practical implementation of the humanitarian articles of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other international legal documents developed for their implementation, as well as other obligations of Kyrgyzstan in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The main methods Bir Duino employs in its work are monitoring, analysis and advocacy, but also educational events and social projects, actively involving young people and marginalized communities.

One of the main recurring events arranged by Bir Duino since 2007 is the Annual International Documentary Film Festival on Human Rights, showing dozens of films from Kyrgyzstan and abroad. Last year over 500 visitors, including activists, policymakers, foreign dignitaries and members of the public. The festival has become not only a platform for watching documentaries covering current problems, but also a place for discussions and networking, where representatives of the government and the civil sector can find ways to solve the most difficult problems regarding human rights. After the main event in Bishkek, smaller versions of the festival are held across the country, in regional centres and even villages. One of the social side effects of the mingling that happens at the festival is the building of bridges between activists and the bureaucrats and politicians that attend the event, something that can be very crucial in other contexts, where the group’s work clashes with the interests of the powerful.

Moreover, as part of the “View from the Front Line” project, Bir Duino, together with key government agencies and partner organizations, is working to promote the voices of local communities living in risk zones to decision-makers. As part of its work to provide assistance to labour migrants and their families, the organization cooperates with local authorities to provide targeted humanitarian assistance, psychological and social support for migrant children, and the development of incomegenerating activities among female internal migrants.

Currently one of the issues the organization is strongly focused on is the case of one of Kyrgyzstan’s most prominent political prisoners, Azimzhan Askarov, an ethnic Uzbek community leader who was arrested and sentenced under dubious circumstances for allegedly inciting interethnic hatred during an episode of ethnic violence between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks that erupted in southern Kyrgyzstan in June 2010. On July 25, 2020, human rights activist Azimzhan Askarov died in corrective colony 47 from rightsided pneumonia while waiting for justice, due to a lack of proper medical care. Bir Duino had been appealing to the State Penitentiary Service about the possibility of paying his treatment and transportation; however, no measures were taken to ameliorate Azimzhan’s situation. Bir Duino continues to defend the rights of Azimzhan and his wife Khadichi Askarova, demanding in the courts an independent investigation of the human rights defender’s death in prison, as well as the property rights of his wife.

Bir Duino fought for Azimzhan Askarov’s freedom for more than 10 years, participating in more than 40 trials, as well as conducting advocacy at the national and international levels. As this episode was a highly contentious one in Kyrgyzstan’s political consciousness, Bir Duino’s commitment to Askarov has exposed them to harassment and persecution by the authorities.

In addition, Bir Duino is credited by LGBT activists as being one of the few established human rights groups in the country to not shy away from taking a principled stance on the rights of LGBT persons, publicly opposing, for example, proposals to introduce homophobic legislation in Kyrgyzstan that is identical to anti-LGBT laws passed in Russia.

Bir Duino is systematically subjected to persecution and pressure in connection with its principled position of promoting the adherence to human rights, and the protection of vulnerable groups of citizens; specifically minorities. For example, Kyrgyzstan’s former President Almazbek Atambayev, in a Mothers’ Day speech, publicly slandered, among others, the organization’s founder and Chair Tolekan Ismailova, as a foreign agent and troublemaker.

Follow Bir Duino on facebook (posts in English and Russian): @bir.duinokyrgyzstan

Center for Protection of Children The Center for Protection of Children is an NGO that does advocacy and provides social services for vulnerable children.

Children’s day celebration in Novostroiki The dissolution of the Soviet Union and the subsequent weakness of state structures in the 90s led to issues like child labor, poverty and homelessness intensifying in Kyrgyzstan. The Center for Protection of Children was launched in 1998 in Bishkek, as a response to this crisis, initially helping street children working on the city’s bazaars. In its early period the group was exclusively focused on providing some of the elementary services the children were being denied, for example by serving food from a mobile cafeteria. However, after realizing that many of the children also lacked access to medical care, something the Center did not feel they were able to provide, the focus expanded to include advocacy as well.

Much of this advocacy has aimed at achieving legislative changes to some of the regulations governing internal migration in Kyrgyzstan. The majority of the vulnerable children that the Center works with today are the children of the many informal settlements of internal migrants on the outskirts of Bishkek.

One of the organization’s key advocacy achievements on a national level was a 2008 reform simplifying school enrollment for children lacking proper registration at their place of residence.

Aside from prodding and helping the state live up to its responsibilities, the Center for Protection of Children also works to empower vulnerable children and their families to demand and realize their own rights. One of the most recent successes of these efforts has been the construction of a school in the informal settlement of Dordoi in Bishkek in 2015. Thanks in part to the Center ’s help with media relations, local parents were able to collect over 2000 signatures in their neighborhood and petition the municipality to commit to constructing the school.

The organization aims to tackle these problems with an integrated multilevel approach (childfamily-community-state), in which different approaches are combined – from direct provision of services to mobilizing representatives of the target group and conducting information and advocacy campaigns at the national level. To mobilize communities, the organization uses a peer-to-peer approach and psychosocial support.

Since 2019, the major focus of the organization’s work is directed toward girls from vulnerable families. It is common that girls are left behind with no access to education and opportunities.

This is especially true when it comes to tech, as it is perceived to be an occupation that is not for girls. With partnered schools and donors, the organization provides STEM educational training opportunities. Currently, thanks to these efforts, girls are already conducting classes for other children.

While the Center for Protection of Children has been working to combine sustainable relief, advocacy for systemic change and empowerment of the vulnerable since at least 2001, they say it was only in recent years they realized that there was a term for their methodology in international development discourse – the Rights Based Approach (RBA). With its focus on empowering persons in vulnerable positions to claim the rights they are entitled to – as in the case of the petition, mentioned above – the Center’s method is an example of how RBA can be implemented in practice.

“We apply a holistic approach, providing direct social services as well as advocating for systemic change.” – Mira Itikeeva, Director of Center for Protection of Children.

Girls during the STEM workshops

Follow Center for Protection of Children on Facebook (posts in Russian): @cpc.kyrgyzstan, and for more information, visit their website: www.streetchild.ktnet.kg

The Internal Migrant Registration system in Kyrgyzstan Under Soviet law internal migration was strictly regulated, requiring citizens to be registered at their place of residence. As is the case in most of the former Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan inherited these regulations, making it very difficult for internal migrants without the hard to obtain registration, to receive basic government services like medical care or education. As the socio-economic upheaval that followed the Soviet breakup led to an influx in internal migration, especially from the countryside to the big cities, large numbers of citizens came to be excluded from many basic services.

“Girls in science” training participants and trainers

El-Too El-Too is an organization that aims to protect the environment, organize activities and events for environmental protection and restoration, promote the rational and effective use of natural resources at the household and community levels and introduce new resource-efficient technologies.

The process of spreading biohumus on the top layer; permaculture techniques El-Too is an organization that aims to protect the environment, organize activities and events for environmental protection and restoration, promote the rational and effective use of natural resources at the household and community levels and introduce new resource-efficient technologies.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, most of the natural reserves were left unattended, which resulted in the exploitation of these reserves for grazing or other economic activities by local communities. Left in the semidesert of the southern shore of the lake Issyk-Kul, the local population had no alternative sources of income.

In turn, the neglect of the natural reserves led to the deterioration of both the land and the economic stability of the locals.

To tackle these environmental challenges, a public foundation “El-Too” was established in 2001 that intended to provide alternative perspectives and sources of income. Now the organization has 20 years of experience in promoting and developing community-based ecotourism, raising awareness of sustainable uses of natural resources among the local population, introduction of energy-efficient technologies, community-initiated micro reserves and, as of recently, permaculture practices, sustainable livelihood and food security in the Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan.

Food insecurity, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss as well as gender inequality and community health are substantial problems in rural communities in Kyrgyzstan. In 2020 together with Centralasiengrupperna, El-Too introduced permaculture initiatives among local women.

The piloting permaculture initiative is an attempt to tackle above mentioned issues and aims to strengthen the capacity in rural communities related to permaculture principles and organic farming, climate adaptation, land rights, food sovereignty and diversified diets.

Through active advocacy work and raising awareness, as well as mobilizing and engaging the local communities through volunteering work,

Bird-watching process: counting birds in the lake using binoculars and telescopes. project “Birds of Issyk – Kul”

El-Too managed to unite 3 community initiative groups, 50 members and now also cooperates with 15 schools on the south of Issyk-Kul Lake. The organization cooperates with 14 organizations in the area of environment protection, gender, food security and rural development, and a number of local and national state organizations.

“When people hear “NGO”, they tend to be more skeptical and they do not want to engage, which makes our work challenging. However, when the local activists are engaged and start promoting the mission we set, it becomes way easier to galvanize locals to participate. That is why we put a lot of effort into promoting activism among youth, raising awareness and providing educational seminars. Further, our extensive experience has shown that district and local municipalities are more responsive to unified initiatives of communities”, – shares Nuraiym, executive director of El Too. According to the research conducted by El-Too, the awareness of the local population about the ecology, flora and fauna of their area is quite low.

Their knowledge is limited to the stories of fellow villagers and their own experience. Moreover, they do not receive specific information on this topic. According to the survey results, the majority (90.3%) are interested in information about nature and nature protection. Findings show that the villagers predominantly receive information only by watching various television programs, for example, “Animal World” (BBC), where they show exotic animals from other continents. The villagers have little information about the waterfowl of the wetlands of their area. Locals’ understanding of ecological and environmental protection is limited to trash disposal. People have shown keen interest in protecting the environment, however, most of them do not know how to contribute.

El-Too extensively works with school teenagers by conducting seminars, lectures, workshops and involvement in different activities and projects.

This is because the organization believes that the future belongs to the youth, and mobilizing them is the most sustainable way to bring about the change. One successful example is the “Birds of Issyk-Kul” project that involves 30 students from 5 schools. During the 6-month workshop, students learn how to recognize the color and sound of the water on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul, how to organize bird-watching excursions for foreign and local visitors interested in bird watching, and how to take interesting pictures and videos in nature.

Combining leisure with usefulness by watching birds, students sometimes get remunerations for consistent contribution to the research. This project influenced the local population and the authorities to allow the activists to create micro reserves and allocate lands for them.

“The influence of El-Too’s work can be felt when visiting the south shore of Issyk-Kul, where ecotourism is mainstream culture now. People are more aware of their environment and how to efficiently use the untapped potentials of nature. Eco-tourism is the unique selling point of the south shore. Through organizing diverse cultural festivals, people get the platform to promote locally produced products, vegetables and hand crafts and touristic services, thus bringing them alternative sources of income”, – shares Nuraiym.

El-Too serves as a platform by providing alternative views and sources of information; engaging the local youth in volunteering clubs where they can learn and exchange. They provide juridical counselling regarding land ownership. Leadership workshops for women to tackle gender issues: women in rural areas remain invisible forces in agriculture and village life, hence, they have no political influence and participation. Through workshops and alternative sources of income through permaculture and kitchen gardening, El-Too empowers women and helps them attain a certain level of independence in the southern shore of Issyk-Kul.

Participants of Women-led permaculture initiatives in semi-desert villages of Kyrgyzstan attending training.

Labrys Labrys is one of the major LGBTQ+ organizations in Kyrgyzstan, which has been actively promoting human rights, providing services for LGBT people and organizing mobilizations for LGBT people and their parents, as well as engaging in local and international advocacy for 17 years.

Labrys activists and activists from the LB * initiative groups of CA participating in European Lesbian Conference in Kiev, Ukraine, 2019.

Labrys was founded by a group of lesbian and bisexual women and trans-men in 2004, after some of them were expelled from a Bishkek cafe after one of the women kissed her partner while celebrating her birthday there. Some of the founders had been meeting informally at the community center for some time to watch films, share information, and learn how to do advocacy work, but their experience of discrimination convinced them to formally organize.

Since its founding, Labrys has been actively working to support the LGBT+ communities of Kyrgyzstan in a variety of ways. Their work includes providing immediate assistance to LGBT+ people in difficult situations and helping LGBT+ people receive basic services that should normally be provided by the state: legal, medical and social services, psychological counseling provided by friendly specialists; peer counseling (where an LGBT+ person consults with an LGBT+ person or where a parent consults a parent). The organization also organizes support groups in which LGBT+ people can speak up, ask questions, discuss community issues without judgement and support each other.

The organization also conducts workshops for LGBT+ people to help them accept themselves, and for parents to help them accept their children. In addition, Labrys provides leadership and activism workshops to help strengthen and empower the LGBT+ community in Kyrgyzstan to confront lesbo/homo/bi/transphobia.

A difficult but useful form of support that Labrys provides to LGBT+ people is immediate assistance to those who have been arbitrarily detained by homo/lesbo/transphobic police. It is not uncommon for the group to have to send a group to a police station in the middle of the night to provide legal and emotional support to a person who has been harassed in this way. Often these actions result in the release of the detainee.

At the same time, Labrys works with government agencies and other professionals, such as doctors, to help prevent discrimination, stigma, and violence based on sexual orientation or gender identity. One key focus of their work has been lobbying for reform that would allow trans people to change the gender registered on their identity documents without having to undergo costly corrective surgery first.

“Our work demonstrates to people that LGBTQ+ people are not alone and that there is a belief in the change that LGBTQ+ people themselves are making – that’s us.” – Executive Director of Labrys

The political situation in Kyrgyzstan is adverse towards the LGBTQ+ community; however, Labrys continues to work and implement their strategic plans to the fullest extent possible.

To learn more about Labrys, visit the website: https://www.labrys.kg/ Or social media of Labrys: Facebook and Twitter @LabrysKG Instagram @labrys_kg Youtube Labrys Kyrgyzstan

“What to do next?” – a 3-day Camp by Labrys for active LGBTQ+ people from Kyrgyzstan to learn to provide first aid, take care of the psychological state during severe stress, and fact-checking information.

These attempts to build relationships with government agencies and LGBTQ+ families, and to influence them to improve, are not taken lightly. Officials largely ignore or deny the existence of LGBTQ+ people in Kyrgyzstan.

Deputies in parliament even proposed to introduce an even harsher version of Russia’s infamous law banning “propaganda for nontraditional sexual relationships” in Kyrgyzstani legislation and it has been pending since 2015 to become a law. Labrys has been a driving force within the coalition of groups publicly opposing that proposal.

Parents of LGBTQ+ people in the camp by Meduza club, late 2020. The Parents’ Club “Meduza” was formed at the camp for parents of trans people in 2018, after which the parents created their own group on social networks and began to add to it and inform the parents of homosexual and trans people. Now the number of parents in the club is about 30 people.

In 2020, Labrys took on the staff of a parent who currently coordinates the Meduza club.

Labrys also actively supports the development of LGBT groups in other Central Asian countries and acts as a resource center for their creation or as a fiscal sponsor for unregistered groups.

Lesbian Visibility Day 2021, Bishkek. In a difficult political situation, when politicians use the topic of LGBT people and NGOs to manipulate citizens in elections, we nevertheless decided to organize a Visibility Day in a bar in the center of the capital and spend time with various lesbians of Kyrgyzstan.

MoveGreen MoveGreen is an environmental youth movement striving to educate, inspire and support environmental awareness and ecofriendly actions in Kyrgyzstan. Based in Bishkek, they are mainly catering to the country’s capital where they are best known for the air quality sensors that they have installed around the city.

Earth Day demonstrations organized by MoveGreen.

“Bishkek is for people” is the slogan that leads the organization’s activities, but its director, Maria Kolesnikova adds that “unfortunately today it is for cars”. There are around 500 000 vehicles in Bishkek alone, for its population of just over a million. While the organization acknowledges the impact cars have on air pollution, it attempts to expand the discourse around air pollution.

“The government’s mainstream position is that the people are to be blamed for using cars and cheap gasoline’’ says Maria. However, the organization conducted research and identified that the air quality index is largely impacted by emissions from the governmental central heating as well as the burning of coal, old tires and plastic by households and businesses. The outcome of their research has shifted the responsibility to act back to the government.

In addition, MoveGreen works actively with the general public by increasing their sense of environmental responsibility. At the time of their establishment, other environmental organizations existed, but the founders saw the need for a youth-led environmental movement. This element of their work is still particularly strong today.

They hold interactive workshops at schools and encourage students to come up with their own initiatives. Initiatives can range from installing recycling points at schools to organizing the Bishkek Free Market where people can exchange old clothes and take part in eco-quizzes.

MoveGreen supports the students throughout their initiatives and offers them small financial grants to realize their projects. MoveGreen also organizes events such as Eco films, Eco festivals, Eco Hackathon and Smog Talks to raise awareness and educate a wider audience of youth.

Move Green’s slogan: “Help the Earth – Save the Environment”.

After five years of working with youth, the movement has expanded its role and included a policy dimension to its work. MoveGreen has grown to become an important link between the public and the government as a result of their active engagement in research, monitoring of air pollution, advocacy and legislation change. They monitor the air and noise pollution in Bishkek, promote recycling as well as campaigning against the city’s deforestation. The Movement is mainly involved in monitoring the air pollution in Bishkek, where they have installed 22 air pollution sensors across the city. The data from the sensors is shared in real-time through an application called “Aba.kg” that also offers recommendations to its users on routes to take and ways to protect their health. Further, the statistics from the collected data is gathered, compiled into reports and shared on MoveGreen’s platform.

Initially, the movement was prompted by a lack of data on air pollution in Bishkek. Once they had made their data available, discussions went viral.

Over 150 articles were published by media outlets and countless social media posts and comments discussed this pressing environmental concern. At first, the government’s response was to deny the validity of the data and question the technology used to collect it. It was, however, inevitable for them to keep this stance as air pollution in Bishkek became a widespread issue.

Young people participating in Earth Day demonstrations in Bishkek.

Four months following their first report, the Prime Minister established a working group which involved MoveGreen. The government adopted a “5year plan of comprehensive measures to improve the ecological situation in Bishkek”. MoveGreen is, besides their role in the working group, also monitoring the implementation of this plan.

Maria Kolesnikova notes that “sometimes there is no need for innovative ecological solutions, but rather effective ways to communicate information to people.”

Hence, the organization is working hard and using creative methods to reach out to the public about ways to protect the environment and their health. They have also tried to reach out to the private sector but unfortunately, it has been a challenge to convince them to adopt eco-friendly practices in their work, but Maria is hopeful that soon it will be possible to engage businesses in these issues.

“Being a young woman isn’t easy in Kyrgyzstan but being a young woman with a disability is a constant struggle.”

– Ukei Muratalieva, member of Nazik Kyz.

Nazik Kyz Nazik Kyz is a non-governmental organization that aims to empower girls and women with disabilities and provide help in their daily struggles with inaccessibility and discrimination.

First meeting of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities under the Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic, December 2020

Of the approximately 200,000 people with disabilities in Kyrgyzstan, 60% are women. With neither the labor market nor city spaces being geared toward accessibility, many of them are forced to spend much of their lives at home, dependent on the goodwill of their relatives.

State support is minimal, the only option for those requiring an assistant is to find and hire one themselves. Unable to contribute to the family budget economically, and often considered a disgrace to the family’s honour, many young girls with disabilities face a life deprived of the rights to self-fulfilment and selfdetermination. This is especially true in matters of sexual and reproductive rights. For women with disabilities to pursue a love life or have children is often viewed as inappropriate, frequently even by their own gynaecologists.

Nazik Kyz set out on a mission to provide help to girls and women with disabilities in relation to themselves, self-perception, perception of the society and in their daily struggles and serve as a platform to connect with women of the same challenges.

“At the beginning of my activism it was difficult for me, since few people paid attention to our problems. However, with the emergence of a greater number of activists among people with disabilities, our voices are getting louder and really started reaching the authorities”, shares Ukei, the director of the organization.

While there are several organizations in the country representing the interests of people with disabilities, Nazik Kyz is one of the two groups that specifically deals with sexual and reproductive rights and health of young women and girls. Part of the organization’s work consists of reaching out to other young women with disabilities. This includes conducting regular seminars on matters like self-determination and sexuality, as well as organizing summer camps on the shores of Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk Kul Lake. With the workshops including topics like relationships, sexual health and masturbation techniques, they break with the prevalent notion that sees people with disabilities as merely pitiful, non-sexual victims without desires of their own.

Nazik Kyz’s annual summer camps, in cooperation with the Central Asian Network of Women Kyrgyzstan, have been held for the past four years, and are usually attended by about 35 girls.

The aim of this work is to strengthen the agency and free will of young women with disabilities, to encourage them to develop a healthy relationship with their own bodies, and to empower them to pursue their own desires.

As employment is one key factor in attaining self-determination and independence, one of Nazik Kyz’s key projects has been the production of fashion accessories at their own sewing shop.

A collection of tote bags adorned with feminist slogans, made by some of their members and sold at cafes around Bishkek, has been successful enough to cover the workshop’s rent.

The other focus of the activists’ work is to change society’s perceptions of disabled individuals. One of Nazik Kyz’s main successes in this regard has been the creation of the reality TV show Real Girls, produced in cooperation with the production company Rentgen Media, and with the support of Internews Network and the broadcasting corporation NTS. The first season of the program, which premiered in June 2016, introduces viewers to the lives of several young women with disabilities. By showing how they live, work, and love, what they dream of and what challenges they face in daily life, the show intends to educate the public about the realities of what it’s like to be a young woman living with a disability in Kyrgyzstan. Further, to raise awareness about their challenges and issues, Nazik Kyz activists conduct a lot of interactive workshops and seminars for the public and local authorities. These are held not only in the capital, but also in remote areas of the country to not only showcase the struggles and challenges of people with disabilities, but to also shift the public’s perceptions of people with disabilities.

Participants of the School of Voters and Democracy: “Increasing the participation of persons with disabilities in political and public life “

Advocacy is another important aspect of Nazik Kyz’s work. They strongly believe in unity and common efforts, and together with other NGOs and civil society activists, they lobby the rights of people with disabilities. “As the saying goes: ‘You never get far on your own’. Only with united efforts can we bring positive changes. What can we do alone?

Nothing much, we can bring people together and voice ourselves louder than we can alone”, – says Ukei.

A milestone in their joint efforts is that the Kyrgyz Government initiated a project called “Accessible City” that would make it easier for people with disabilities to get around the city, promoting and complying with the objectives of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Nazik Kyz is part of the working group in the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to help assess and implement the Accessible City project.

Thanks to the strong network that Nazik Kyz has managed to build, the organization runs its own shelter to provide accommodations for women with disabilities in dire situations.The shelter plays a vital role as such services are in acute demand; also, they help those in need with food and other resources. Further, they have created a hotline where volunteers and professionals provide psychological and legal consultations, and even assist victims of abuse to take their cases to the court.

Girls with disabilities of Kyrgyzstan take part in the Summer Camp of independent life for women and girls with disabilities

Novi Ritm Novi Ritm (“New Rhythm”) is a youth-led organization that is by and for young people.

Novi Ritm volunteers celebrating International Youth day

The organization’s foremost area of activity is in the city of Osh, in southern Kyrgyzstan.

The organization functions as a platform for youth with a variety of backgrounds to explore and discuss social issues, to develop ideas and implement their own projects.

The group was conceived as an initiative to create a meeting place for people of different backgrounds. As an indirect response to the so called “June Events” of 2010, in which ethnic clashes left hundreds of dead in the city of Osh, a group of young people started gathering regularly to create a space for youth, regardless of ethnic, language, gender or educational background to meet and get to know one another. This informal setting was formalized into Novi Ritm in 2014.

The organization’s vision is a society in which young people work together to create a just, equal and sustainable world. The organization conducts its activities in the form of lectures, workshops, campaigns and camps through nonformal education for youth in the fields of: human rights, gender equality, environmental justice, social entrepreneurship and conflict prevention.

In many respects Novi Ritm applies aspects of the Rights Based Approach (RBA). When it comes to their workshops, for example, they are guided by a principle called the “peer-to-peer” approach.

The idea is to pass on skills and knowledge such that those who have gained them can in turn pass them on to others. By empowering youth in this way, Novi Ritm hopes to plant a seed which will over time have structural effects and lastingly change society for the better.

One particularly successful example of Novi Ritm’s work has been the Girls’ Group, which focuses on how gender stereotypes limit the opportunities for girls and young women in the country to live their lives. By illuminating taken-for-granted norms and gender roles, the group empowers girls and young women to organize and challenge the status quo of gender-based discrimination and violence.

Currently, Novi Ritm is piloting Men’s Groups – reflective sessions focusing on masculinity norms as well as providing men a conducive environment to express, discuss and learn. The idea is based on, and inspired by, the methodology of Swedish organization MÄN (“Men for Gender Equality”) that was developed in the wake of #MeToo and focused primarily on gender-based violence targeting women. Novi Ritm has expanded and adjusted to their respective context to incorporate different learning aspects into it. In patriarchal societies, hegemonic masculinity norms tend to be constructed to promote and idealize domination over women and society. On a collective level, men occupy the overwhelming majority of executive and decision-making roles. These norms and related behaviours not only harm women and their communities, but also come at a severe price to men themselves, in terms of emotional pain, unrealistic self-expectations, relational distancing and violence. Most of the efforts of CSOs and Kyrgyzstan’s authorities focus on working with girls and women as victims; however, rarely do they attempt to address the problem at the source – the men who often perpetuate these issues. Novi Ritm believes that it takes two to tango, hence, sees the importance of working with men.

Novi Ritm is one of Centralasiengrupperna’s closest partners in Central Asia. The groups have cooperated since before Novi Ritm became a formalized NGO, a process which CAG facilitated.

Their partnership has included exchanges, joint trainings and other forms of mutual support. At the local level, the organization has a wide list of partners like youth and civil rights organizations and networks such as UNITE and Coalition for Equality and Association of Youth Organisations in Kyrgyzstan.

“Novi Ritm is a home for those who disagree with the inequality, injustice, and violence that is accepted as a natural way of life in society. This home has an atmosphere of freedom close to absolute. This allows anyone involved in Novi Ritm to get rest from the traditional mentality, to gain some energy and make efforts to bring positive changes every day, starting from their small communities”, – Saltanat Boronbaeva , Board member Follow Novi Ritm on facebook @newrhythm or instagram @noviritm and visit their website for more information www.noviritm.org

Even the organization’s own structure seeks to facilitate such a development. By avoiding excessive bureaucracy and hierarchies the organization maximizes inclusivity and accessibility. Allowing newcomers to quickly launch initiatives of their own and rotating the position of Chair on an annual basis enables a wider spread of responsibility and exposure to leadership experiences. Using participatory methods and democratic principles in its work, Novi Ritm makes sure that the end goals of the organization are inseparable from the means of reaching them.

Novi Ritm activists on an exchange in Sweden – visiting CSOs in Malmö

Novi Ritm conducting workshops for and establishing partnership with the local authorities

Village Girl

Village Girl is an initiative that aims to empower young girls in the remote villages in Kyrgyzstan.

First trainings for 16 selected girls from 4 different schools in a remote village in Kyrgyzstan.

The initiative strives “to start a never-ending chain of empowerment, and a girl-power culture among village girls through workshops and interactive training that build individual and collective capacity”.

Girls in rural Kyrgyzstan are often vulnerable, insecure and can be targeted for bride kidnapping, domestic violence, and early marriages. The cases of early marriage are noted in all regions of Kyrgyzstan. According to the UNDP reports, more than 20% of marriages in the Kyrgyz Republic happen through the abduction of a woman/girl. Bride kidnapping in rural areas occurs twice as much as in urban areas.

Unfortunately, most of the kidnapped girls do not continue their higher education because of their new families’ decision for them.

Especially in rural areas, girls carry a lot of family pressure when it comes to freedom of choice. Due to the patriarchal society and traditional norms, they succumb to different kinds of discrimination and limitations, hence, rarely do they enjoy their rights to freedom, expression and decision-making for their own lives. Another challenge is that girls in the villages have too many obligations and take care of the whole household, which leaves truly little time for studies. Besides that, the education system in Kyrgyzstan is quite outdated and does not provide the necessary skills and knowledge to build a sturdy foundation for life. In addition, most girls have scarce access to information and alternative views on the world that prioritize anything other than marriage. This deprives most girls the skills and knowledge they need to accomplish their dreams and thrive.

“I am from a village myself and am familiar with the local difficulties and challenges for girls: for example, lack of self-awareness, critical and creative thinking, and lack of information about opportunities. When I studied at school, I did not know about exchange programs and scholarship opportunities, and moreover, I lacked skills. Living in the village, I have always looked for a person/role model to look up to, and now that I have achieved my dreams with the help of so many people in my life, I want to give back and create a resource for girls to achieve their goals and reach their full potential. I am sure that girls in rural areas are in need of a certain guidance or advice, therefore they are eager to work with us”, shares Meerim Nurlanbekova, the founder of the initiative.

To achieve the set mission of the initiative, Village Girl team works hard on building capacities by conducting workshops, workshops on future careers, study abroad programs, reproductive health, social media and security, social activism, and more, as well as conducting leadership camps for girls in schools in the remote villages of Kyrgyzstan.

Their target group is 15 and 16-year-old girls studying in the 9th and 10th grades. After the application process, the team selects 16 high school girls from different schools in every region and trains them.

The workshops are based on sisterhood and a peer-mentorship style. Therefore, the trainers are also young girls themselves in order to make schoolgirls feel comfortable working with them.

The Village Girl team always tries to create a trustful and conducive learning environment for village girls and build deep connections with them. The goal is not to simply train them and leave, but is about becoming sisters and building strong ties with them.

Village Girl believes in the snowball effect, hence, they set expectations that those 16 girls, in its turn, conduct Village Girl Project workshops in their schools for close to 50 more girls and pass on their knowledge. They also provide continuous supervision and support throughout the process.

Follow Village Girl on Facebook and Instagram at @villagegirlkg.

“I believe that an educated girl is an educated mother, an educated family, and an educated nation.

If girls are educated, our boys will be educated as well. Together we can build a bright future and inclusive society. Therefore, investing in girls should be one of our priorities”, expresses Meerim.

“I feel unstoppable to pursue my dreams. Now I feel confident and know how to shape my life and plan my future the way I want”, shared a 16-year-old high school girl, one of the participants of the project.

Village girl project in Talas region, Kyrgyzstan during the pandemic.

Village girl project inspires other girls and conducting leadership trainings in Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan

Area: 143,100 sq km Population: 9,360,000 Date of independence: September 9, 1991 Capital: Dushanbe Ethnic groups: Tajik 84.3%, Uzbek 13.8%, Other 2% (includes Kyrgyz, Russian, Turkmen, Tatar, Arab) Religion: Islam (98% of population)

Tajikistan The Tajiks were part of the ancient Persian Empire ruled by Darius I and later conquered by Alexander the Great (333 BC), hence Tajik language is almost identical to the Persian language spoken in Iran.

In the 7th and 8th centuries, Arabs conquered the region and brought Islam. The Tajik people have lived in the territory that is now Tajikistan for centuries. However, despite the long heritage of its indigenous peoples, Tajikistan has existed as a state only since 1924 when it was consolidated into the newly formed Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within Uzbekistan Only in 1929 did Tajikistan become its own state. Prior to that, the Tajiks were under the Uzbeks and then Afghans until Russians conquered the area in the 1860s.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Tajikistan gained its independence, and shortly after in 1992, Tajikistan was plunged into a Civil War that lasted for 5 years. The protesters were against the presidential elections and demanded fair representation. The civil war was a chaotic, complex and multi-sided affair. It was a power struggle between clans and regions, neoCommunists, moderate Muslims, democrats and intellectuals. There were clans and warlords who took the side of the neo-Communists opposing Islamic forces. Only in 1997, the sides came to a treaty and a peace accordance was signed that ceased the war.

The Civil War debilitated the economy and stability of the country and its consequences left deep scars and fear in the population. People fear to object and protest to the current government led by President Emomali Rahmon, who has been in the position since 1994.The president Emomali Rahmon dictates his image in the media. Since 2017, a new law requires journalists and media to refer to Rahmon as “The Founder of Peace and National Unity, Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan, His Excellency Emomali Rahmon.” In 2020, President Emomali Rahmon extended his tenure up until 2027 by winning the election with 90 percent of votes, thus making himself the longest-serving ruler in all Post-Soviet countries.

People fear that protests can lead to another civil war. Albeit, according to the ICNL (The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law) the Civil Society is one of the most dynamically developing sectors in Tajikistan today. However, CSOs undergo meticulous scrutiny by the government that impedes and limits their efficiency. According to Human Rights Watch, Tajikistan’s human rights record continues to deteriorate amid an ongoing crack down on freedom of expression and political opposition and pressure on the independent media.

Tajikistan remains the poorest country in the postSoviet region. Its economy faces major challenges, including dependence on remittances from Russia, high levels of corruption, and narco-trafficking plays the major role in the country’s informal economy. The main sources of income are cotton and wheat crops, aluminum processing, mining of precious metals, hydroelectric power exports, and remittances by migrant workers. Due to its water resources Tajikistan has a significant potential for hydro-power generation as it already has the world’s highest dam that supplies 98% of the country’s needs. According to the World Bank, the economic growth has been increasing by 7% per year since years and significant poverty reduction is observed.

Human rights in Tajikistan continue to deteriorate.

Freedom of expression and political opposition are extremely limited; the country has no free media nor an independent opposition. Authorities continue banning any media outlet that is critical about the government. Internet access has always been a challenge for the population as the government meticulously scrutinizes the usage of the already slow Internet and even periodically shuts down major mainstream sites such as Google, Facebook and many other communication platforms. Tajikistan continues to have several cases of torture against religious minorities, despite including freedom of religion in their constitution. Cases of detention and torture against hijab-wearing women are still a common feature in the country. Moreover, targeting

of independent lawyers, journalists, and family members of opposition activists abroad remains a common practice for the government.

Domestic violence against women remains an acute problem in the country. Women are limited in justice and protection by an insufficient number of shelters for survivors of violence, and a lack of professional counseling services.. Several factors cause police to deny help to victims, including patriarchal and traditional norms, as well as a lack of legislation that would specifically criminalize domestic violence and marital rape.. There has been an attempt to combat domestic violence against women and children in 2015 that included establishing several police stations staffed by female police inspectors who received training in gender-sensitive policing. However, it is reported that Tajikistan’s 2013 law on the prevention of violence in the family remains unimplemented and victims of domestic violence continue to suffer and do not receive adequate protection.

LGBT+ community is subjected to wide-range discrimination and homophobia. In 2014, the State Committee for Religious Affairs informed imams across the country to preach against “nontraditional sexual relations.” Public beatings and discrimination as well as detention, harassment, and extortion by police are commonplace. Police routinely arrest men under suspicion of “homosexual acts” and charge them with “moral crimes.” In 2016 the authorities began to single out members of sexual minorities, setting up a working group on the issue of youth joining LGBT groups. Subsequently, 367 alleged gays and lesbians were detained and registered. The process of registering LGBT people appears to be continuing.

Ghamkhori Ghamkhori is a non-commercial care, education and development organization based in Tajikistan’s third largest city, Kurgan-Tyube. Ghamkhori has been striving to improve the quality and economic standard of living of vulnerable segments of the population in the Khatlon Region since 1999.

Agricultural educational programs are one of Ghamkhori’s areas of work.

To achieve their goals, Ghamkhori operates in several thematic areas such as community mobilization, domestic violence, migration, children with disabilities, education, gender, health and agriculture. They aim to contribute to the formation of a healthy society through training and capacity building activities; by providing access to information, supporting and cooperating with public institutions in the field of agriculture, education, health, the protection of the rights and interests of citizens, they believe that their goals can only be achieved through a holistic approach and cooperation.

Ghamkhori started as an initiative group by a collective of medical professionals and teachers at the civil war’s end in 1996, they later became a fullflegged NGO in 1999. Ghamkhori today employs over 43 staff, including teachers, medical professionals, social workers, agronomists and legal experts and 13 constant volunteers. With the range of challenges in this part of the country being as broad as it is, Ghamkhori runs numerous projects tackling different social issues. Three of the currently most central ones involve working with Tajikistan’s migrant labor population, operating a center for children with disabilities, and the issue of domestic violence.

Due to its dysfunctional economy, Tajikistan is one of the most remittance-dependent nations in the world, with as many as 1.5 million (of Tajikistan’s roughly 8 million citizens) migrant laborers working in Russia, with remittances accounting for 28% of the country’s GDP.

Ghamkhori staff working with one of their clients.

The acute shortage of domestic jobs makes emigration a primary option for many young people in Tajikistan who are seeking employment.

In most of the cases, emigrants lack labour skills and knowledge of their host country’s culture, and hence face a lot of challenges both in the hosting country – most often, Russia – and back in their home country upon their return. With the Russian economy in stagnation many of these mostly young men from rural areas are now returning home. In order to help reintegrate returning migrants Ghamkhori runs a project that aims to help them stand on their own feet. This includes assistance in starting small businesses and farming lots. At the same time, Ghamkhori works to spread information on legislative changes to Russia’s migration policies, to ensure that potential future migrants have a realistic understanding of their chances in attempting to find work there, before making the expensive and potentially risky journey.

Another one of Ghamkhori’s main projects is a center for children with disabilities, which the municipal administration in Kurgan-Tyube has entrusted the organization with operating. At this center, children with all kinds of disabilities receive vocational training to prepare them for a life independent of the meagre pension provided to them by the government. In addition, Ghamkhori’s social workers provide various kinds of support to the children and their families, to help them cope with the stigma which much of Tajik society associates with disability. The long term vision that guides the work at the center is to effect a change in attitudes so its clients are accepted for who they are – normal children, with some special needs.

Ghamkhori staff in contact with local law enforcement.

Another key focus for Ghamkhori is the tackling of domestic violence. Their general goal is to reduce the level of domestic violence though services for overcoming domestic violence and assistance (rehabilitation, reintegration, integration, in social life) to persons who have experienced domestic violence in the Khatlon region, as well as increasing the awareness of the population, as well as through interacting with authorities on domestic violence issues. Ghamkhori also established the only Crisis Center for the victims of domestic violence in the Khatlon region.

In their 21 years of existence, Ghamkhori evolved exponentially. The organization extensively collaborates with local institutions, decisionmakers and law enforcement. Based on Ghamkhori’s work, many publications were made.

Periodically, the government relies on Ghamkhori’s expertise when it comes to passing legislation related to the thematic work areas of the organization. Ghamkhori has become an expert in its field of work and most of the time it serves as a reference point.

Ghamkhori is guided by rights-based principles, meaning that sustainable social change is understood to rely on empowerment and enabling stakeholders to take charge over their own life, rather than having their problems addressed for them. Ghamkhori’s work has been recognized with several prizes by municipal and national authorities.

Independent Center for Human Rights Protection The Independent Center for Human Rights Protection is a human rights organization in Tajikistan, fighting against the use of torture, for greater public access to information, and for the rights of those forcibly evicted from their homes.

Founded in 2011, and based in an office building in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe which houses several of the country’s top rights organizations, the Independent Center for Human Rights Protection pursues three key directions: the fight against torture, improving public access to information, and assisting the victims of forced evictions.

One of the Center’s key areas of focus is the fight against torture, inhumane and degrading treatment. The organization is part of the Civil Society Coalition against Torture, which unites a number of groups and individuals seeking a commitment from the state to a zero-tolerance policy on torture. Partly due to this work, Tajikistan recently saw an amendment to the country’s criminal code to include torture as a criminal offense. In addition to coordinating the Coalition against Torture’s working group on media, the Independent Center for Human Rights Protection works with citizen complaints of torture, inhumane or degrading treatment perpetrated by officials, represents victims in investigations, and assists them in securing compensation.

The Center’s second concentration is on access to information. Tajikistan’s authorities do not always observe the public’s right to access information about their work. The Independent Center for Human Rights Protection therefore assists journalists as well as ordinary members of the public to gain access to such information.

While the Center’s first two directions of work are also pursued by other like minded organizations, its third area of focus is quite unique. Mass forced evictions are a very problematic but common occurrence in Tajikistan. The reasons for such evictions vary: sometimes it is the municipal authorities tearing down older buildings to make room for new construction, in other cases people’s homes are in the way for the construction of administrative buildings. Cynically, one of the justifications given to displace people which has become increasingly popular with the authorities, is to say that their resettlement is necessary for environmental reasons – even when they have lived in the given spot for generations. To make matters worse, those forced to leave their homes are frequently denied adequate compensation, forcing them to move to a distant part of town, or worse yet, into homeless.

Given the disastrous consequences such evictions often have for those affected, forced evictions are both a human rights and a social rights issue. “We are currently the only human rights organization in Tajikistan working actively with social issues like this”, Shoira Davlatova, the Center’s executive director says. While often an uphill battle, the organization’s work with evictions is both vital and rewarding. In several cases they have been able to secure compensation where none was initially offered. A common and valuable side effect of the Center’s work in such cases is the facilitation of ordinary people’s own potential to stand up for themselves. Not infrequently former evictees, who turned into activists while working with the Center on their own case, later come to the aid of their neighbors when they become threatened with the same fate. In some cases, these citizens have then been able to carry on this struggle with only occasional advice from the experts at the Center.

Given that international financial support for Tajikistan’s civil society organizations has been declining, and government audits of their activity have been on the rise, this development is crucial.

“These ongoing contacts with citizen-activists really help.

The greater the number of people involved, the greater the resonance among the population”, Shoira Davlatova, executive director of Independent Center for Human Rights Protection says.

Visit the webpage of the Independent Center for Human Rights Protection for more information – www.ichrptj.org – and the website of the Civil Society Coalition against Torture and impunity in Tajikistan: www.notorturetj.org

The executive director of the Center for Human Rights Protection, Shoira Davlatova.

Light LighT is the first and only organization for the rights of trans-persons in Tajikistan, organized by trans people.

Like elsewhere in the region, trans-people in Tajikistan face stigmatization and discrimination.

With society deeply traditional, most live a double life, some of them hiding their gender identity from even their closest family members.

While not officially, directly persecuted by the state, social ostracization and sanctions by other members of society and state authorities are common.

LighT was established in 2015 as an initiative group that aims to ensure security, unity and the strengthening of the transgender community in Tajikistan. LighT strives to build a strong movement and create a space that serves as a platform where the transgender community can get information, as well as legal, psychological and medical support.

In a place like Tajikistan, this comes with many challenges. Without official government registration, secretly existing transgenderinitiatives found it extremely challenging to establish contacts, rent office spaces, and were forced to meet at activists’ homes or in public places like parks and cafes. Therefore, to ease its bureaucratic struggles, LighT managed to officially register as an “NGO that works with vulnerable people with HIV’’ in 2018. Note that Tajikistan’s trans/homophobic laws does not allow such organizations to exist, hence the alternative purpose is decribred to be eligible for registration.

Given the prevalence of hostile attitudes toward trans people in society, LighT cannot openly pursue their aspiration to raise the visibility of trans people in Tajikistan and directly do their advocacy work to bring about change. Hence, they cannot run campaigns and afford their own website and social media presence as they are constantly under risk of persecution.

Most of LighT’s work is done undercover and privately. To meet their mission, LighT puts all their efforts into building a solid internal network of allies, building their own capacity by doing a lot of monitoring and research on the needs of transgender people and legislative grounds in Tajikistan. This is done to be able to effectively address these major issues in the future. They also work on creating protocols of action and drafting guidelines for the provision of medical and social assistance to transgender, transsexual and gender non-conforming people.

“We are not known in Tajikistan as we have to keep a low-key profile in the country, however, we are well known in the international arena as we actively cooperate with international LGTBQ+ organizations.

We are members of European Transgender Network and well connected with Central Asian trans and LGBQ+ communities where we contsatly support each other and exchange best practices and support each other in many ways”, – shared the executive director of the organization.

Inspired by, and with support from the well-established LGBT-advocacy group, in neighboring Kyrgyzstan, LighT has been working to strengthen the trans community of Tajikistan. This work has included networking with trans persons in other cities, searching for trustworthy psychologists, gynecologists and endocrinologists, and establishing contact with lawyers willing to defend trans-persons facing discrimination. Given the level of stigma attached to transsexuality in the country, this is a very difficult task. “Most lawyers are very apprehensive”, one of the trans women who co-founded LighT says. “While we know some friendly lawyers, who are willing to consult us in secret, hardly anyone dares to defend us in court, for fear of being associated with us”, she continues.

Fortunately, there is progress in LighT’s efforts: they have established a network of lawyers and doctors who are open to providing their services without questioning and judgement. For the first time, in 2019, LighT conducted training camps to provide accurate information and increase the sensitivity of doctors and lawyers to transgender people in Tajikistan. During the training, doctors received information about the medical needs of transgender people and presented the best practices for providing medical and social assistance to transgender people. An important result after the training was the initiative of doctors to develop a clinical protocol for hormone therapy for transgender people, which is a vital consistent step for contributing to a set of documents for further promotion and advocacy, thus expanding the network of trans and LGBQ+friendly doctors.

The work on the development of a clinical protocol has already begun.

In addition, LighT focuses on helping trans persons to build skills that would enhance their chances of being employed. The organization implements social entrepreneurship workshops for creating jobs for transgender people. As a result of this initiative, one of the trainees opened their own beauty salon in Tajikistan. In the future, LighT hopes to become self-funded through social entrepreneurship and help transgender people find job opportunities.

“Most lawyers are very apprehensive”, one of the trans women who co-founded LighT says. “While we know some friendly lawyers, who are willing to consult us in secret, hardly anyone dares to defend us in court, for fear of being associated with us”, she continues.

Nansmit

The Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan, Nansmit, has been the country’s leading defender of freedom of the press since the 1990s.

A workshop on digital security for journalists, organized by Nansmit.

The impoverished mountain nation of Tajikistan is not an easy environment for independent journalism. Still recovering from a devastating civil war that followed independence, the economic outlook is dire. The lack of perspective for young people and the ongoing war in neighboring Afghanistan have provided a fertile ground for militant Islamism. Volatile borders with post-soviet neighbors are an additional source of instability. The government’s attempts to strengthen the state have mostly made themselves felt in the form of growing authoritarianism. In this context, independent journalists have come under increasing pressure, and the need to defend them is ever more acute.

The Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan, Nansmit for short, has been working to defend freedom of expression, the media and its representatives since its foundation in 1999. Based in the capital Dushanbe, this NGO’s work consists of variety of activities, including monitoring, legal support and capacity building.

Nansmit tries to confront this by providing legal counseling and aid to those facing defamation lawsuits and government pressure. To this end, Nansmit runs three mobile legal aid clinics, based in the country’s biggest cities Dushanbe, Khujand, and Kurgan-Tyube. Each consisting of one legal expert and several volunteers, these clinics have successfully defended journalists in several high profile cases. Another important way the organization works to protect journalists from repression, in the context of widespread government surveillance, is to conduct trainings in digital security.

However, where possible, Nansmit also cooperates with state structures to improve the working environment for journalists. One common problem when it comes to reporting on official matters is that state press offices and the country’s courts usually provide little access to information on their activities. Nansmit has been working with these institutions to develop better practices, like allowing for more thorough question periods during official press briefings.

While Nansmit’s main goal is to defend the rights of journalists, they also do not neglect the serious responsibility that comes with the journalist profession. In May 2017, for instance, the organization participated in an interregional initiative that brought together Tajik journalists with their Kyrgyz colleagues to discuss how to cover the frequent conflicts involving the local populations along their common border without inflaming tensions.

One of Nansmit’s main goals for the future is to help establish a country-wide union of journalists.

Though there is apprehension among media professionals to such attempts, due to negative connotations stemming from the Soviet legacy of state control over journalist unions, they hope that existing local unions can be united into a strong independent force for independent journalism in Tajikistan.

Follow Nansmit on facebook (posts in English, Tajik and Russian): @Nansmit.tj or visit their webpage: http://eng.Nansmit.tj/

One of the main challenges for journalistic work in Tajikistan consists of the constant risk of legal repercussions in response to critical coverage of the powerful. Due to problematic defamation legislation, those wanting to suppress public scrutiny of their affairs often resort to lawsuits against journalists. At the same time, to avoid undesirable coverage, the state frequently puts pressure on uncomfortable journalists by charging them with ostensibly unrelated, fictitious offenses.

This has led to widespread self-censorship among the media.

International conference on the issue radicalization, co-organized by Nansmit.

Some of the literature produced by Nansmit.

Notabene Notabene is one of Tajikistan’s leading non-governmental organizations, working to promote human rights through research, analysis and advocacy.

Compared to its Central Asian neighbors, Tajikistan used to receive little attention from the international community. “Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have been facing widespread international criticism for serious human rights violations, Kazakhstan has received a lot of attention for its global business ambitions and investment potential, and Kyrgyzstan has been seen as a dynamic and interesting country”, Nigina Bakhrieva explains.

But in recent years the human rights situation in Tajikistan took a very challenging turn, and the country’s civil society is in great need of international solidarity. “We have managed to attract more international attention to our country – recently the EU passed its first resolution on the human rights situation in Tajikistan and we hope this will translate into a constructive dialogue with the authorities”, Nigina Bakhrieva continues.

In 2009, following many years of managing different human rights organizations in Tajikistan she had helped establish, Nigina Bakhrieva started Notabene. Rather than providing assistance to victims of human rights violations, their mission is to carry out monitoring and analysis of the situation, to identify the key issues and gaps in legislation, policy and government practice and to advocate on the international level on behalf of Tajikistan’s civil society.

With over 18 years’ experience as a rights defender, Nigina Bakhrieva helps civil society actors and colleagues that work with various vulnerable groups and individuals, express their work through the language of human rights.

For instance, while much work has been done by various actors in Tajikistan on the issues of people with disabilities, it is only recently that this work has been formulated increasingly in terms of rights, rather than in medical or social welfare terms. A similar transition to a more rights focused approach, according to Nigina Bakhrieva, can be observed in the area of sexual and reproductive health. “This is a very important change”, she says.

Civil society actors working directly with marginalized groups of the population, such as sex workers, drug users, or LGBT persons, often face stigmatization by association. However, through partnering with Notabene they are able to contribute to human rights advocacy work without some of the pressure usually associated with their area of work.

Despite these positive developments, Notabene and other civil society actors have been under increasing pressure related to the overall turn in Tajikistan human rights practice. Examples of this type of pressure include negative press NGOs receive in state-owned media, often accusing civil society of subverting moral values and stability. They are also subjected to inspections by various state agencies related to finances and taxes, labour laws, and internal procedures. The frequency of these inspections and lack of clear legal procedures for conducting them puts a great burden on the NGOs, preventing them from focusing on their human rights work.

In this situation, solidarity and close cooperation among civil society organizations is key.

Notabene’s office is located in a building that houses many of the country’s top rights groups, allowing them to drop by, and support one another at any moment. One of the greatest examples of this strength in unity is the Coalition against Torture, of which Notabene is an instrumental member. “We are proud to be a member of the Coalition, which has helped secure compensation for victims of torture and change laws and practice of state agencies in this area” Nigina Bakhrieva says.

Visit the webpage of Notabene for more information: http://www.Notabene.tj/en/

“Say No to Torture” action, 2014

“We have managed to attract more international attention to our country – recently the EU passed its first resolution on the human rights situation in Tajikistan and we hope this will translate into a constructive dialogue with the authorities”, Nigina Bakhrieva says.

Umedvor

Umedvor is a community-based local volunteer organization based in the Pamir Mountain region of Tajikistan, in the city of Khorog.

Participants of entrepreneurship project for women during the workshops

The organization is funded locally and by a few foreign expats who invested some finances into helping Umedvor to be established. Umedvor started off as just like the “Timurite movement”, which was an altruistic youth volunteering movement in the Soviet Union of do-gooders who helped locals in need with any sort of work.

The organization wanted to help the elderly as well as engaging local youth in community work. However, the group soon identified bigger problems in need of immediate solutions, such as low civic engagement, high rates of migration, widespread unemployment, few spaces and opportunities for youth development, and a lack of sense of belonging among young people in the region. These issues need a more systematic and sustainable approach to tackle, and the simple aid given by volunteers following the Timurite model would not fundamentally ameliorate the situation in the long run. Hence, the initiative group formalized as an organization in 2012. Ever since, Umedvor has worked on the promotion and strengthening of civil society by involving youth, women and vulnerable groups in society.

Umedvor team installing Street Libraries in small and remote mountainous Khorog. The aim of the project is to enhance a reading culture and encourage a shift in attitude towards books as sources of information.

The organization implements various projects, such as raising awareness in local communities about the problems of civil society, solving economic problems and ecology and democracy as well as providing material, physical and psychological support for vulnerable groups of society (including girls and women).

They also work with schoolchildren to raise their awareness of the value of civic engagement and volunteering, as well as conduct debate tournaments and educational camps. In addition, Umedvor extensively works with returned immigrants from Russia and helps them readjust and reintegrate in the community and find their places by learning new skills and about their rights.

Umedvor believes that strengthening the confidence and abilities of young people to engage in their local society will encourage decision-makers to have a dialogue with young people about their issues and concerns. By providing a physical space for young people to become engaged and gain new knowledge around their role and the role of others in civil society, Umedvor believes the current vicious circle of low civic engagement and high migration rates can be broken.

Follow Umedvor on facebook @OOUmedvorVolunteersWithoutBorders (Posts are in Russian).

They actively seek to cooperate with international and local organizations as well as the state to implement their projects.

Moreover, Umedvor serves as a platform for young people in Khorog to gather, learn new things, participate in educational workshops, and enhance their intellectual and professional potential. In addition, as many of Khorog’s young men have left Tajikistan for Russia in order to find work, it is common that local women remain with nothing to do and are strongly dependent on their family members who send money from Russia on a monthly basis. Most of the time, local women do not have any sort of occupation as there are limited opportunities of employment as well as women often having no skills useful for employment. Hence, Umedvor works to create favorable conditions for achieving the economic independence of women – especially housewives – through seminars and their involvement in entrepreneurial activities. Their aim is to fill the gaps in the financial literacy of the participants, to give them confidence that a financially literate woman is able to start her own business and achieve success. Through extensive workshops, women gain basic financial skills, such as family budget planning and savings, savings skills, and effective management of personal funds. They also learn skills in selling and advertising their own products.

Pupils in Khorog can borrow books from the mobile library. Each mini library will hold a range of fiction and non-fiction books in Russian and English and everyone is encouraged to come and borrow a title.

Participants of entrepreneurship project for women during the workshops

Uzbekistan

Area: 448,978 sq km Population: 3,564,411 Date of independence: September 1, 1991 Capital: Tashkent Ethnic groups: Uzbeks (82.9%), Tajik (4.9%), Russian (2.7%), others (7.7%) Religion: Islam (88% of the population)

Uzbekistan is the only country at the heart of Central Asia, neighboring with all the other four Central Asian countries. Its territory is nearly the size of Sweden with vast diverse terrain from Tian Shan Mountains in the southeast and Kyzylkum Desert in the north and fertile lands of the Fergana valley in the east from Kyzylkum.

Uzbekistan is home to more than thirty million people, making up the biggest population of Central Asia. It has a rich history and is known for its historical sites connected to the Silk Road.

Arranged marriages are almost universal practice in Uzbekistan, which are often carried out within tight-knit communities with religious leaders involved. It is often the case that marriages are considered legitimate only if they are bound by nikkah ceremony, while ignoring the legal procedures of it. This puts women in an extremely vulnerable situation since they are not usually entitled for any inheritance from their families, while the new family usually refuses to have any bonding contacts or agreements.

The territory of present-day Uzbekistan was conquered by Russia in the late 19th century, while the Uzbek Socialist Republic was established in 1924. Uzbekistan was the main producer of cotton, which was achieved at the cost of water supply depletion that left lands and Aral Sea degraded and dried certain rivers.

Uzbekistan has gained its independence in 1991 and was ruled by the authoritarian leader, Islam Karimov who was atop of the power since 1989 until his death in 2016. In 2016, after the death of Islam Karimov, the former Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev took over the office.

Mirziyoyev took concrete steps to improve the country’s human rights record. He also improved relations with neighbors and introduced wideranging economic, judicial, and social reforms.

As a result, the economy of Uzbekistan became slightly diversified and its dependence on the cotton monoculture was decreased. Despite the new president’s attempts to bring about positive changes the country, human rights violations, torture, politically-motivated prosecutions, and forced labor still remain prevalent.

As of 2020, the total number of registered civil society organizations in the country exceeded 10,000. Most of these NGOs were created by the state, which allows a rigid control of NGOs’ activities. Local community members are obliged to become members of state-funded NGOs, while being led by state appointed officials.

Self-initiated NGOs do not have sufficient organizational capacity and resources to function.

International funding is tightly controlled and only a number of self-registered NGOs working with local communities manage to receive funding from the outside. The number of existing NGOs and high associational level among the population allows Uzbekistan to fulfill certain criteria of international organizations that Uzbekistan is part of.

Gender-based violence is frequently occurring in Uzbekistan, placing women and girls in a very vulnerable position. A law incriminating gender based violence was adopted in August 2019 (and signed in September of the same year), however, the patriarchal norms in the society in Uzbekistan have an important role in mainstreaming gender based violence, often downplaying the importance of testimonials of such, as well as blaming gender based violence on women or girls for provoking a man, either by the type of clothing worn or for questioning male authority. The society in Uzbekistan is further marked by traditional values and norms, where women and girls are perceived as passive actors subject to male authority. An example of this is the reconciliation period which is in place when a woman seeks a divorce, which in practice means that the authorities in Uzbekistan coerce women into staying with their husbands for a period of three months before a divorce may be approved.

Uzbekistan ratified CEDAW in 1995, while the optional protocol to the convention was never signed. In practice CEDAW does not have a strong effect on the situation of women in Uzbekistan – with, or without the optional protocol to the convention. On the 2nd of September, 2019, the president of Uzbekistan signed the law on protection of women in Uzbekistan. In September of the same year, he also signed a law that guarantees equal rights and opportunities for men and women. The latter law is said to be counter-effective to the law on protection of women in Uzbekistan in a way that it allows the state authorities to justify their inaction when women file cases. As for the representation in state agencies, women composed only 3.9% of the cabinet of ministers, 12% of the Senate of Uzbekistan, 20% of the legislative chamber of Oliy Majlis (the Parliament of Uzbekistan).

The LGBT+ community in Uzbekistan is subject to severe discrimination and homophobia.

Consensual sexual relations between men are criminalized, with a maximum prison sentence of three years. It is often reported that police use blackmail and extortion against gay men, threatening to out or imprison them.

Ilkhom The theatre, “Ilkhom”, is one of the first non-governmental professional theaters in the history of the former Soviet Union.

When Ilkhom Theatre first opened its doors in 1976, it was the Soviet Union’s only independent theatre. Since Uzbekistan became independent this institution of Tashkent’s cultural scene has remained a hub for critical and high quality creative production, and continues to attract theatre lovers from across the region.

Back in the Soviet days, the Uzbek capital of Tashkent was a good place for creative minds who wanted to push the strict limits imposed by the state. The Kremlin was far away, and the bureaucrats in Moscow were less aware of what was happening in the plains of Central Asia. So, in 1976, at the height of the Brezhnev era stagnation, a young director named Mark Weil decided to do what seemed impossible: with a group of local drama graduates he founded the first independent Soviet theatre. From the very beginning, the theater was formed as an ensemble, consisting of soloists who would freely improvise while paying close attention to their peers. Ilkhom Theatre quickly became legendary across the country: Its unique and daring productions, often dealing with sensitive political and social topics, attracted theatre enthusiasts from as far as Moscow and St Petersburg. The long corridor leading to the theatre’s main stage is still covered in countless messages of love and admiration, scribbled there by its many fans over the years.

Much has changed since then. When the Soviet Union was dissolved, many former Soviet states developed a thriving and independent cultural scene, while independent Uzbekistan retained its authoritarian regime. Today, Ilkhom Theatre is still the only independent theatre in Uzbekistan.

But despite all odds, Ilkhom is still going strong, even after suffering the most tragic imaginable loss: in 2007, Ilkhom’s founder and art director Mark Weil was murdered, according to officials, by religious fundamentalists upset about his work. “Mark Weil was an innovative mastermind, and a true patriot of Tashkent. His death was a tragedy,” Nikita Makarenko, a journalist and one of Ilkhom’s musicians explains, “He was irreplaceable, really, and many thought that without him Ilkhom would have to close its doors,” Nikita remembers, “but Ilkhom kept going, and is continuing its work.”

The word “Ilkhom” is Uzbek for “inspiration”.

Since 2010 it has acquired the title of the Center for Contemporary Art. Various types of contemporary art are developed here, and today Ilkhom has become a home for both musicians and visual artists. The venue is a veritable hub for Tashkent’s independent and creative spirits. The audience of the frequently sold out performances typically consists of people of all ages.

But while Ilkhom is supported by a dedicated community of friends, it is still struggling. Though the government generally tolerates the free spirited atmosphere there, some plays have previously had to be adapted to pacify state bureaucrats displeased by offensive language they featured.

“Historically it became that we promote modern art expression, in a sense that our work reflects and raises current social issues through art. Our core value is diversity and inclusivity. We do not comply with the Ministry of Culture’s rules. We try to exercise our right of freedom of expression and maintain our sovereignty as an independent theater”, – shares Irina Bharat, International Program Director of Ilkhom.

Financing is also a challenge. Since Ilkhom gets no funding from the government, most of its staff hold additional jobs to make a living. In addition, the ongoing emigration of Uzbekistan’s Russian diaspora eats away at Ilkhom’s core group of fans, many of whom are ethnic Russians.

Despite the many challenges, Nikita is optimistic.

“There are now several really strong creative leaders trying to realise their ideas. This has led to really big audiences, and helps us financially”, he says.

“If you want to do your thing, get productive creatively, without having to deal with a lot of bureaucracy, this is the place to be”, Nikita Makarenko concludes.

Follow The Ilkhom Theatre on Facebook and Instagram (posts in English and Russian): @ilkhom.theatre or visit their webpage: http://ilkhom.com/en

Nemolchi.UZ NeMolchi.uz is one of the most resonant volunteer-run online initiatives in Uzbekistan with the aim of countering violence and giving a voice to women and girls affected by gender-based violence.

NeMolchi.UZ volunteers

The initiative serves as a platform that provides advice on what people can do if they experience domestic violence or other types of abuse, and also functions as a tool by which women and girls can share their own experiences. The mission of NeMolchi.UZ is to break the culture of silence, shame and mainstreaming surrounding genderbased violence. The name “Nemolchi” in Russian means “don’t stay quiet”, and thus encourages women to speak up.

“The ultimate goal that we strive to achieve is ‘Uzbekistan without violence! that is also our motto.

We dream to see an equal Uzbekistan, where people are well informed about matters related to violence, are well aware of their rights, and where people are absolutely intolerant towards gender-based violence.

As the saying goes; ‘Evil is recognized, evil is named, evil has no power”. Only informed people can react, act and counter the violence’”, – shares Irina Matvienko, the founder of the initiative.

Until recently, there were no statistics available on domestic violence in Uzbekistan. A country where society is characterized by patriarchy, violence at home remains to be a private matter.

The absence of national legislation proscribing gender-based violence, in particular, domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment leaves women vulnerable to violence, unprotected and silent when it happens.

To give voice to the women who are victims of violence, the founder of the project “Nemolchi.UZ”, Irina Mativienko, created a social platform for women to share, learn and support each other. The initial idea of the project was to draw attention to and inform the public of the existing gender-based violence in Uzbekistan.

“Globally I have observed an increased discussion about violence towards women. However, in Uzbekistan, once in a few months, a media article is published on a resonant case that shocks the public but fails to point out the issues linked to gender-based violence. Yet violence happens every day, and it is all around us” says Irina Matvienko.

It was for this reason that she created a platform by opening a Facebook page in 2017 despite not having registered as an organization. She knows from experience the arduous administrative barriers one is faced with when trying to establish a non-governmental organization in Uzbekistan.

Since open discussions on domestic violence were still socially stigmatized in Uzbekistan, Irina decided to remain anonymous for the project’s first six months. Only after the president himself publicly acknowledged the problem of domestic violence in the country, did she feel safe to disclose her name. She started by sharing stories from the Internet connected to Uzbekistan and articles on issues of violence. It took some time until a group of somewhat informed followers who knew about concepts such as sexism and victim-blaming was formed.

The page administrators actively monitor comments and immediately remove those who violate the rules. This allowed people to keenly engage in conversations in the group and sometimes share their own stories openly under their names.

Previously girls and women used to send stories to the page through Facebook, and now they can share their stories completely anonymously through an online form with only one box to fill out. This drastically increased the number of stories received by the Nemolchi project. Hundreds of stories were submitted. A group of the project’s volunteer editors note that some stories date back to the Soviet times, and they believe that sharing experiences, even online, can sometimes have a therapeutic effect.

The work of NGOs is highly regulated in Uzbekistan despite minor reformations in this sector by the second president who assumed office in 2016. Hence Irina Matvienko wants to register the initiative as a mass media organization because she believes media outlets are less controlled. In addition, she launched a website with content in Uzbek that accommodates non-Russian speakers in order to reach a much wider audience. However, the content in the Uzbek version of NeMolchi.UZ is so far not identical to its Russian-language counterpart. The content has to be adapted, and sometimes even censored due to the mentality and reluctance of the Uzbek speaking population to read such information and further avoid backlash and the triggering of conflicts. Both of these plans will require funding, something which is hard to receive in Uzbekistan.

Once at the beginning of the project, a woman listed point by point all the situations of sexual assaults she had faced in the past. It was such a comprehensive list that some of the group started commenting that “if all of this happened to her, she must have provoked them”. This case prompted the page administrator to establish strict rules about disparaging and criticizing individuals sharing their stories, though they are anonymous. In every post it is stated if the author wants suggestions or to receive support. In the case of the former, the hashtag “sovet” (advice) is used.

NeMolchi.UZ team at the “Rahmdillik” shelter in Samarkand with the founder and the director of the shelter Bibisora Oripova

Irinia Matvienko with the Minister of Justice Ruslanbek Davletov at the “Excellence in Legal Propaganda” award in Uzbekistan.

Qalb Nuri Qalb Nuri is a center for social and legal support for women and their families in the Fergana Region of Uzbekistan.

Qalb Nuri’s work mainly entails providing legal services to vulnerable groups of the population, and social and legal services to women who have suffered from domestic violence. The organization also works to fight gender inequality, engaging in projects that aim to prevent gender violence, strengthen the institution of the family, shaping the perspectives of future generations, and promoting the political activities of women.

This has been accomplished by strengthening vertical and horizontal ties with the stakeholders and creating a unified information and learning space on this issue. The centre actively works to develop the skills and knowledge of rural women, to ensure their active participation in social and economic life, as well as to increase the livelihood of their families and communities in general.

The center helps those who reach out to the center for social and legal support of women and their families. They also work on changing the attitudes of society toward social issues, such as domestic violence, patriarchal attitudes, and the underprivileged social and political status of women. Their aim is to provide resources to women experiencing gender-based violence, empowering them – as well as other women – to stand against violent abuse. Amendments to legislation would encourage increased reporting of abuse, which would reduce the stigma around gender-based violence, in extension resulting in a more gender-equal society.

Qalb Nuri faces several difficulties, such as a reluctance of government agencies to cooperate due to their limited resources to act beyond their stated core functions. Furthermore, lack of constant funding affects the quality of the work of employees. This is clear during project times when a large number of volunteers are required.

The recruitment of volunteers is carried out by conducting workshops in schools, colleges, universities and mahallas.

Over the years, the staff of the centre have developed educational programs for students of the faculties of psychology and social work; in international law in the field of women’s rights, human trafficking, conflicts, family relationships.

During the period of its activity, the staff of the centre have achieved definite results in strengthening the capabilities of state bodies, public organizations and the local community toward solving the problem of domestic violence.

Work has been carried out to inform the public of the harm caused by domestic violence to not just one’s spouse, but the entire family.

Rahmdillik The only women’s shelter in the Samarkand region for victims of domestic violence. The organization is guided by the slogan “Life without violence – is life in harmony”.

Sewing factory under Rahmdillik

Rahmdillik was first founded as the Umid Center in 1996, and since 2000 has offered refuge and services to over one thousand survivors who have been affected by domestic violence. Rahmdillik and its central services are based in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with outreach efforts extending to various neighboring districts within Uzbekistan.

Some women who have been exposed to domestic violence turn to self-immolation, as a suicidal protest, known mainly as the act of setting fire to oneself. The exact numbers are unknown and most cases are disguised as accidents, but according to a burn specialist, Bibisora Oripova, the suicide attempts are clear and the consequences for survivors are horrifying.

Families turn away from many of the women who have attempted to commit suicide, leaving them vulnerable and increasing the likelihood of relapse. In order to help women in such difficult situations, Bibisora Oripova established a rehabilitation center called “Umid” in 1996, which was reregistered as “Rahmdillik” in 2006.

The number of places in the shelter kept increasing from 6 to 16 to 30. At the same time, the organization’s work has also become more accepted in society as more women started sharing their positive experiences of rehabilitation.

This shift in people’s perception has contributed to the betterment of the organization’s relations with the local municipality. Initially, it was difficult for Rahmdillik to receive permission for establishment from the local municipality, since they viewed it as a place where women were incited to revolt against the government. Over time, the organization showed its real societal impact and is currently working closely with the local municipality and committees to raise awareness of domestic abuse.

Bibisora Aripova, director of the Rahmdillik shelter in Samarkand, colleagues and locals call her “Doctor opa” (sister-doctor) with honor.

The women seeking refuge at the shelter are not only offered a safe place for themselves and their children but also receive legal, psychological, medical and educational help. To better assist women in need of medical aid, the organization in partnership with the Women’s Committee of Uzbekistan and other donors have built a two floor medical center with an operating room.

Women and children undergo medical checkups and sometimes receive free reconstructive surgeries at hospitals. The organization is also engaging other local medical centers and training their staff to increase their capacity to help women who are the victims of domestic violence.

Besides its efforts to help victims of domestic violence, Rahmdillik attempts to address the root causes of domestic violence in its prevention activities. Its staff leads talks about gender, stigma, discrimination, and tolerance in mahallas (a closely knitted form of neighborhood community), and establishes legal-social support offices in mahalla committees representing neighborhoods with high rates of domestic violence. To challenge stereotypes about women, Rahmdillik selects a group of women for their leadership program, where the participants undertake computer classes, language courses, entrepreneurship and professional training. In addition, they also work on design, sewing, national crafts and drawing as an avenue for future sustainable employment.

This also allows women to start their own small businesses, become independent and to further promote social and economic gender equality in their communities.

Rahmdillik expanded its area of work to have a more holistic approach that aims to strengthen civil society in order to advance women’s rights through advocacy, protection and empowerment in Uzbekistan. Rahmdillik not only empowers women and victims of domestic violence, but also contributes to the capacity of local CSOs in several cities in Uzbekistan including the capital so that they can provide better support to victims.

Rahmdilik is of vital value for women in Samarkand. Thousands of women have been helped, trained and assisted in recovery and have even gained independence since its foundation.

Because the shelter is independent with no regular income, they always need financial support.

To support Rahmdilik’s work and victims of domestic violence you can donate here: http://fundforvictimsofgenderbasedviolence inuzbekistan.uz/ For more information visit their website: https://www.rahmdillik.org/

One of the rooms of the shelter

The Hayot Centre An organization that believes in an inclusive society as a tool for development and positive change.

Numerous circumstances influence the living conditions of persons with special needs. Legal protection is crucial, yet people’s perceptions and attitudes can affect their lives immensely. Social factors such as ignorance, neglect, and fear aggravate the isolation of persons with special needs. “Many families hide their children with special needs because they are seen as bringing “shame” to the whole family,” says the director of the Center, Rano Khalilova while emphasizing the role of organizations like Hayot.

The Hayot Centre has been working since 1999 to increase public awareness about the lives of people with special needs and altering narratives about them in mass media. Cases of ill-treatment and marginalization persist in all spheres of children’s lives. Some schools refuse to accept children with minor difficulties to see or hear. With the help of the project funded by the European Union, the Centre managed to transfer 136 children with similar minor conditions from special schools to public schools in Samarkand.

Promoting inclusive education is one of the main missions of the Centre. To achieve this, “it is imperative to work with teachers, first to deconstruct their stereotypes about children with special needs, then to equip them with the necessary skills to create supportive and respectful learning environments in their classrooms,’’ adds Rano Khalilova. Therefore, the Centre have involved over 100 teachers in such workshops.

Besides involving children with special needs in formal learning, the Centre encourages them to engage in extracurricular activities offered by a local artistic development centre for children. There, they can discover their interests and unleash their abilities and talents. Most importantly, these activities allow the children to build their self-esteem and self-worth.

Children with special needs are in some families treated differently than other children. They receive less attention, poorer upbringing, and less encouragement than others. Considering this, the Centre created a Parent’s Club to create a platform for families to support each other and share advice and experiences. The Center also organizes seminars with specialists to help parents better communicate with their children and to understand their needs.

Children playing games at the artistic development centre.

All these activities are run by 12 active members who are full-time employees at other institutions and who are involved in the organization on a voluntary basis because they are convinced that

“Inclusive society is a great power!” *Here children are considered all individuals below 18 years of age.

Staff member Rano Khalilova with participant Buned. Buned aspires to become a builder and enjoys watching houses being built.

Children and parents playing: “Find your mom’s hand!”

A walk in park organized by Hayot’s Parent Club.

Time of Wonders Time of Wonders is one of the biggest youth movements in Uzbekistan that aims to support young people in the initiation of their own volunteer projects and provides them with a network and a platform to meet volunteers from different parts of the country and the world.

Movement: Meeting of 5 initiatives, Tashkent 2021

Primarily, the initiative group aims to help children with disabilities, not only providing them with one-time material benefits, but also by engaging in their education and upbringing processes throughout the year. However, the initiative group does not limit itself to only one specific thematic area; the volunteer’s initiatives are often responsive to current issues in society and topics often vary.

The Time of Wonders annually conducts a charity fair that strives to attract representatives of business, charitable organizations, citizens, and guests of the capital to the issues and problems of children with disabilities; it also seeks to find opportunities for the implementation of creative initiatives regarding children; finally, it also provides effective support for and targeted work with children with disabilities, based on the principles of social responsibility.

Since 2006, the one-day festival has served as a platform for students from specialized boarding schools, orphanages, and centres for children with disabilities to raise awareness about invisible members of society. This is done by exhibiting their creative works that have been created throughout the year during the workshops and activities organized by Time of Wonders and performed jointly with their mentors and educators. The charity event became one of the most anticipated events in the capital of Uzbekistan, and managed to convince many citizens and organizations to participate, support and raise awareness of the problems highlighted

by Time of Wonders.

The organization is a volunteer hub – working both for volunteers, providing them with opportunities and capacity building workshops, as well as helping the final beneficiaries in their needs and struggles. “In most charity organizations the work is focused only on the final beneficiaries and target groups, but at Time Of Wonders, we provide opportunities for our volunteers to grow.The initiative forms a strong volunteering spirit such that, even if a volunteer officially leaves the initiative, they never actually leave us – they always stay in touch with us and remain in our purview. Within the initiative, volunteers can be grouped into two sections: young active volunteers who are the project-implementation force, and the ‘oldies’ who help with finances, resources, and administrative work”, – shares Azam, an avid volunteer for Time of Wonders.

All the initiatives are developed out of a bottom-up approach. Every volunteer is encouraged and supported to initiate their own projects.

One of the most successful results was in 2020, in which the founders of Time of Wonders, together with Azam – one of the organization’s most active and oldest members – founded a nonprofit NGO, the Uzbekistan Volunteer Association, that currently is officially registered at the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The circumstances that prompted the formation of the association were the adoption of the “Volunteering” law that led to the first Republic Volunteers Forum, as well as the pandemic.

Volunteers in the organization worked to reduce the population’s suffering due to the spread of the virus and the subsequent lockdowns. This work was done entirely on a volunteer basis. That is why, later, when the situation stabilized, the state emphasized the invaluable contribution of volunteers and awarded the participants with a special breastplate engraved with the phrase, “Mehr-Sakhovat” (“Mercy and generosity”).

The Uzbekistan Volunteer Association is a platform that unites and promotes initiative groups of volunteers in Uzbekistan, who are mediators on the path of implementing ambitious projects and creative ideas. It is an aggregator of international projects, events, volunteer efforts, which will further provide new opportunities for volunteers. The vision of the association is this: a strong civil society where everyone contributes to the development and formation of a sustainable world through volunteering. Creating a supportive and conducive environment for unlocking personal potential and multi-faceted development of skills is the mission of the association.

First Volunteers School for mentors and trainers Zamin, Uzbekistan 2021

During its short existence, the Uzbekistan Volunteer Association has united more than 30 volunteer initiatives that continue to inspire others. There were also more than 20 events for volunteers and more than 50 events with the participation of volunteers of the Association.

The most ambitious were the Republican School for Volunteer Mentors, in which 96 volunteers from all 14 regions of Uzbekistan took part. In May of this year, a large weekly youth festival was held, in which UVA volunteers took an active part, in addition to a competition among volunteer initiatives in the capital, which demonstrated the great involvement of not only young people in volunteering, but also people from different classes and ages of society.

It is important to note that the Uzbekistan Association of Volunteers is actively working throughout the republic. Thus, 5 volunteer schools have already been launched, which are regional centres for the development of volunteerism and associations of interested persons.

Azam sees the need for a common platform for young people engaged in activism so that they connect, exchange ideas and support each other.

Furthermore, he is grateful for the opportunities that he has received from Time of Wonders and is excited about their new massive endeavours.

Stay tuned to Time of Wonders (@vremyachudes) and Uzbekistan Volunteer Association (@uva.uz ) on their exciting work by following them on Facebook.

Charity Fair “Time of Wonders”, Tashkent 2019

Eco NGO Zarafshan ECO NGO Zarafshan is comprised of a group of environmental experts and volunteers based in the UNESCO Heritage City of Samarkand.

A work plan is being created for volunteers at the Samarkand State University’s Faculty of Biology.

The organization aims to form an ecological and sustainable culture among the population of the city by raising awareness of environmental concerns in Samarkand. It also advocates for the monitoring of chemical waste and air pollution.

A decade after independence, Uzbekistan was no longer at the state of shock and adaptation from the breakup of the Soviet Union. The priorities for the country had been set , and evidently, ecological research was not one of them. Even the laboratory, where scientists studied surface water pollution from mercury, arsenic, and antimony, stopped receiving government funding.

An excursion to the bank of the Zarafshan River in order to collect samples and run analyses on the quality of water.

A workshop with rural residents within the project “Restoration of tugai forests in the Zarafshan River Valley – potential for preserving the region’s biodiversity”.

A project manager and a coordinator are using a GPS to determine the boundaries of a project’s territory.

Following this, a group of the laboratory’s experts united and registered an organization under the name of “Zarafshan’’ in 2002. The co-founder and director of the organization, Gauhar Deusheva, has since 1989 been researching the animals and plants affected by heavy metal pollution in the Zarafshan area, which inspired the name for the organization. Zarafshan is a city in the center of the Novoiy region and it is known as “the gold capital of Uzbekistan”. Zarafshan is also translated from Persian as the “spreader of gold”. The area includes Zarafshan National Park and Zarafshan River, which especially attract environmental experts working to preserve the country’s nature.

Naturally, the first project of the organization took place in Zarafshan. The organization’s experts conducted a chemical analysis of the water and soil and established a practice of independent monitoring of Zarafshan. The findings were published in the form of a toolkit with recommendations and seminars on ecological monitoring were held for students and professors.

Seminars of this kind and other educational initiatives are frequently held by the organization in an attempt to increase environmental awareness on a regional and national level.

Although a majority of the organization’s activities are implemented around the city of Zarafshan region, they also have projects in Samarkand, where they have their base.

One of the major focuses of the organization is working with youth. ECO NGO Zarafshan extensively involves students in various volunteer projects, and also conducts regular lectures and workshops for school pupils and university students on the environment and ecology.

Besides these, the organization conducts competitions among students, information campaigns and seminars for local communities.

Samarkand is known worldwide for its mausoleums, mosques and its Silk Road legacy, but little is said about its scenic mountains, wide valleys and thick tugai forests, which are home to different fauna and a unique flora. Therefore, ECO NGO Zarafshan implemented a project to promote ecotourism in the Samarkand region.

Ecotourism is the practice of responsible travel to relatively undisturbed natural areas in order to explore and discover the natural beauty and attend cultural attractions which ensure the general principles of environmental sustainability.

The first principle is to opt for an environmentally friendly means of transportation. Other principles include ways in which the traveler can reuse and reduce their usage of energy and water and thus cause minimal to no damage to the environment. The goal of the project is to coordinate and encourage the usage of natural and cultural resources, while acknowledging the importance of preserving them. Ecotourism also contributes to the financial well-being of the area allowing locals to continue the maintenance and preservation of nature. In order to promote Ecotourism, ECO NGO Zarafshan also publishes booklets, brochures and conducts seminars in the Samarkand region.

School children are being taught about medicinal plants.

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan was ruled in ancient times by the Persian empire, and was later conquered by Alexander the Great, the Mongols, the Turkic army, and finally by the Russian empire. The city of Merv, formerly the Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria, was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, located on the historic Silk Road near today’s Mary in Turkmenistan.

Annexed by the Russian empire in the late 1800s, Turkmenistan fought fiercely against the Bolshevik movement in Central Asia, but became part of the USSR in 1924 and later achieved independence in 1991.

Saparmurat Niyazov, the first president of Turkmenistan, known as “president for life” died in 2006, and Turkmenistan held its first presidential elections in February 2007. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who is still in power, became the new president in elections widely regarded as “a democratic sham”. Like his predecessor, he constructed a cult of personality and even built himself his own gold monument in the form of a bronze horseman that resembles the monument of Peter the Great in St. Petersburg.

Turkmenistan’s human rights’ record remains atrocious. The country is extremely repressive and is closed to the scrutiny of independent organizations. The government imposes restrictions on media, religious freedoms and controls access to information overall.

Authorities continue to impose informal and arbitrary travel bans on various groups, including activists,relatives of exiled dissidents, and

students leaving to study abroad. Local activists report the fiercest government pressure against them. Websites tied to the government have published smear articles against several human rights defenders, both in the country and in exile.

Domestic violence against women and girls remains a serious problem. The poor implementation of a 2003 domestic violence law has not ameliorated the problem – government agencies still neither punish abusers, nor offer adequate protection to victims of domestic violence. Access to protection and justice is often obscured by both an absence of services as well as an attitude of indifference or outright hostility toward victims. Police do not systematically enforce protection orders and few domestic violence complaints reach the courts. In addition, pressure to keep families together, stigma, economic dependence on the abuser, and fear of reprisals from the abuser cause some women to avoid seeking assistance.

Relationships between two men and sex between male persons in Turkmenistan is punishable by imprisonment. Article 135 of the Criminal Code of Turkmenistan, “Sodomy”, dictates imprisonment for a term of up to two years for “sexual intercourse between a man with another man”, and from 5 to 10 years for a repeated case. Homophobia is widespread, and homosexuals hide their sexual orientation to avoid discrimination in Turkmenistan.

Criminalization and social prejudice create widespread homophobia, and medical

Area: 488,100 sq km Population: 5,958,466 Date of independence: October 27, 1991 Capital: Ashgabat Ethnic groups: Turkmen (85%), Uzbek (5%) and Russian (4%) Religion: Islam (89% of population)

institutions and judicial authorities often regard homosexuality as a disease.

The economy of Turkmenistan is dependent on hydrocarbon and natural gas reserves, which have not yet been fully exploited. In recent years, Turkmenistan has been moving to expand its exploitation of natural resources and is attempting to diversify its gas export routes beyond Russia’s pipeline network. In 2010, new gas export pipelines delivering the Turkmen gas to China and Iran were built. The new pipelines curbed Russian control over Turkmen gas exports.

Until 2019, all citizens of Turkmenistan had the right to free electricity, gas and water. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic deepened the country’s economic crisis, and prices on basic goods continued to rise, bringing much of the population to the brink of hunger.e The Government of Turkmenistan denied the existence of the pandemic, did not take any protective measures and refused to admit the existence of COVID-19 cases in the country.