Kazakhstan prides itself on being an inclusive and progressive state, dedicated to the safety of all its citizens. Human rights organizations and markers of development like the Democracy Index argue that this vow to its people is not often honored, heavily restricting freedoms and expressions of belief. In America, protests are often seen as an exercise of free speech and free assembly, however the treatment of protests and advocacy organizations in Kazakhstan highlights the inequalities faced in protesting inequality. We were provided the opportunity to learn more about this from someone on the frontlines, one of the founders of the Kazakh advocacy organization Feminita, Zhanar Sekerbaeva. As a queer woman in Kazakhstan she described her experience, her motivations, and continuous battle to provide a safe place for women in the LGBT community across Central Asia.
Zhanar was born in Turkestan, a region of Kazakhstan and inspired by stories of and experiences with gender outreach during the Soviet Union, she and her partner Gulzada Serzhan founded the feminist organization in 2014. Starting with community events similar to the ones conducted by the Red Yurt organization in villages across the Kazakh SSR, Feminita provides the queer women of Kazakhstan and surrounding countries with a safe haven and voice in the fight for social justice across multiple topics. Unlike other organizations, Feminita prioritizes the lesbian, bisexual, queer, and transgender communities as opposed to the umbrella LGBTQ terminology. Since there are numerous advocacy groups catered towards queer men, Zhanar and her partner saw an opportunity to improve the resources available to Kazakh people, and have continued to expand their organization to help women in the countries around Kazakhstan.
Unfortunately their grassroots organization has suffered at the hands of an authoritarian government and encountered discrimination from other advocacy groups. Despite being founded in 2014, Feminita has fought for the registration of the organization with the state. After beginning the process of registration in 2017, the group has faced various minute errors which have delayed approval. Until 2023 when the issue evolved from typos to direct state discrimination when government officials told Zhanar that the specification of LBQT does not fall under the protection of Kazakh law. The country that claims to safeguard its people refused to give legitimacy to a group dedicated to safeguarding marginalized groups, effectively declaring their true stance on advocacy and human rights. Zhanar remarked that ironically around the same time their registration was denied a new proposal was brought to the Kazakh parliament. This proposal would legalize polygamy allowing for certain men to take 4 wives. While they refuse to grant opportunities to others they provide opportunities for themselves.
Among the obvious issues of being unregistered, this setback restricts their ability to organize demonstrations and limits their access to funding. In countries like the U.S. people are granted the right to free assembly under the constitution, however the constitution and laws of Kazakhstan do not guarantee the same privileges. In order to organize a public assembly an advocacy organization must essentially ask the state for permission, filling out a form and waiting for approval. When they were denied the ability to rally on International Women’s Day Feminita appealed the decision only to be told that an assembly to advocate for women’s rights would be a “threat to public order.” However when protests do occur they quickly turn violent, but not at the hands of the demonstrators. January 2021, known simply as Bloody January was a series of organized assemblies against the government which ended with a death toll over 200 and the Kazakh president ordering the security officers to “shoot to kill without warning (Kim 2023).”
Even if Feminita was able to organize rallies their participation in advocacy is prevented by funds and discouraged by other groups. Groups that are registered have access to state funding and can easily request the help of outside organizations and governments. Until they are approved, Feminita continues to fight for financial support from NGOs, international bodies like the United Nations, and small grants from countries like the United States. These funds are not guaranteed and when approved are only given for short periods of time. This requires Feminita to reapply for grants yearly rather than in increments of four years as is the case with state funding for registered groups. The obstacles extend beyond funding, and into the realm of discrimination based on sexual orientation. Throughout her time in advocacy Zhanar has been turned away because of her gender expression and sexual orientation, even in situations where the protesting had nothing to do with identity. Within feminist communities Feminita is viewed as a stain on Kazakh beliefs and freedoms, women don’t see the members of Feminita as women but rather the poison to younger generations and a threat to femininity.
Their continual efforts to unite various advocacy groups Zhanar face immense pushback, but Zhanar and Gulzada have not lost steam nor motivation. When asked how she copes with the discrimination, and what motivates her to continue to fight against inequality Zhanar told us that by publishing information, reporting on human rights to the UN, and participating in cultural events she feels like change is being made every day. Even in the face of every barrier and instance of discrimination, Feminita led the charge which resulted in a huge step towards gender equality. Since Soviet times Kazakhstan had restrictions on the professions available to women, but after a strenuous campaign, Feminita and other advocacy groups successfully persuaded President Tokayev to overturn this law granting women the right to occupy over 200 professions. However Feminita is going beyond advocacy and change in Kazakhstan hoping to create a safe haven for women across the world, especially in Central Asia. Since Kazakhstan is currently the safest country in Central Asia for queer women, and in order to use their location to their advantage Feminita continues its campaigns and outreach in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and more.
Works Cited:
Kim, Lucian. 2023. “The Other Jan. 6.” Foreign Policy (blog). January 5, 2023. https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/01/05/kazakhstan-bloody-january-violence-tokayev-nazarbayev-conspiracy-protest/.
Photo Credits:
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