Reflections from the field
Aizat Syinat
31
Kyrgyz – mother-in-law
66
During our field work in cities and villages, we reflected a lot on the gap between Bishkek and the rest of the country. Activists residing outside the capital are more loaded with household chores, family services, and the hierarchical relationships between Kainene and Kelin. Although many women identify as practicing Muslim — reciting prayers and fasting — almost all of our respondents considered the radicalization of Islam to be one of the most difficult challenges facing society today.
According to them, over the past ten years, the status of women in religion has been deteriorating. Women do not feel free and safe. The 2010 interethnic conflict in the south, of course, left its own mark. This topic sometimes slipped into the conversations, but the activists tried not to touch it. Neither 1990 Uzgen events nor the 2010 Osh events have received adequate reflection; the activists are not psychologically rehabilitated. Being Bishkek activists ourselves, we felt privileged in everything — both in relative freedom and in terms of access to living conditions. Our conversations felt like psychological consultations with activists desperate to talk. Women activists in Southern Kyrgyzstan are becoming more like underground partisans in order to ensure their security. We saw unrecognized heroines helping others more than themselves.
