Kyrgyzstan politics moves closer to gender equality

Iliana Zhedigerova

Following April 2021 local elections in Kyrgyzstan, the number of female deputies serving on local councils across the country climbed from 11% to 38%. This landmark success in the struggle for greater female representation in Central Asia came as a result of legislation passed by the Kyrgyzstan parliament in 2019 reserving 30% of all elected positions on local councils for women.

While equality activists in Kyrgyzstan are understandably encouraged by the country’s spring 2021 local elections, they note that deeply ingrained stereotypes and weak enforcement of gender regulations mean that must still remains to be done ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for late 2021.

Tulekeeva Nazira is an example of the growing female enagement in the political life of Kyrgyzstan. Prior to the spring ballot, her local 21-person council featured just two women. However, she was one of eight female candidates to win election, transforming the gender balance on the council.

Nazira says she was motivated to run for election by a desire to help the local school and contribute to her community. «I believe women have extensive knowledge and problem-solving skills in a wide range of skills. We need to see more women in politics because they have an important contribution to make,» she says.

The 2019 legislative changed introduced in Kyrgyzstan appear to have been effective, but experience indicates that existing gender imbalances in the country’s politics cannot be fixed via quotas alone. The first amendments to Kyrgyzstan’s election laws establishing a 30% minimum quota for female candidates were introduced more than 10 years ago. However, the current parliament, which was elected in 2015, features just 22 women among 120 MPs.

The key issue here is implementation. While the legislation leaves no room for interpretation, the relevant parliamentary committees and prosecutor’s office choose not to strictly enforce the law. Instead, issues of gender balance are left up to individual political parties to decide for themselves.

Gender issues analyst Anara Musabaeva notes that while formal barriers to female leadership in Kyrgyzstan are being steadily removed, informal obstacles remain significant. She believes that this stems from the prevailing patriarchal attitudes the dominate many aspects of contemporary society in today’s Kyrgyzstan.

Musabaeva notes that while it is regarded as perfectly acceptable for men to behave badly in parliament, if a female MP engages in inappropriate behavior, her gender immediately becomes an issue. In practice, she comments, women much meet far higher standards than their male colleagues if they want to be successful in politics. Nevertheless,  Musabaeva argues that the current trend towards greater gender equality is essential for the country’s future. “The establishment of democracy in Kyrgyzstan is impossible without the full participation of women in the polical process,” she says.

In order to maintain the country’s recent  progress towards greater female representation in the politics, Musabaeva says it is vital to enforce existing legislation and oblige political parties to follow the rules. She also supports calls for campaigns to encourage women to seek careers in politics and training to provide candidates with the skills and confidence to enter the political arena. “This can help create a new generation of competent women in Kyrgyzstan politics,” she notes.