June-December 2020
Feminist Voices from Central Asia
Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan)
RLS Representative Office in Central Asia
RLS Representative Office in Central Asia
Feminist Voices from Central Asia
The feminist movement is becoming increasingly significant in Central Asia. The movement’s activists are behind a growing number of public initiatives aimed at attracting the attention of societies and government structures to the movement’s existence and its values. It is now reasonable to say that feminism has a significant potential for influencing the social and political realms of Central Asian countries. Moreover, new forms of feminist movement’s organisation are emerging.
“Feminist Voices from Central Asia” is a project that concentrated on feminist organisations’ and movements’ positioning in the public discourse on contemporary ideas and narratives. It also probes the local feminist contexts of Central Asian countries, examines the movement’s potential and offers strategies and mechanisms for further promotion of feminist ideas in the region.
Project aim: Provide an opportunity for feminist organisations, movements and activists to present their goals, values and agendas; facilitate a positive public perception of feminism and the advancement of its ideas in the public discourse.
The project launched an open competition to write and publish essay manifestos that focused on the following issues:
- What are the aims, values and action agendas of feminist movements in each of the Central Asian countries?
- What are the most pressing issues in the functioning of your feminist organisation that require immediate legal, government-level and social remedies?
- What kind of problems and difficulties has your organisation faced in its operations?
- What is the role of contemporary feminism in the promotion of human rights in the countries of Central Asia?
- Why feminism is necessary in Central Asia and how relevant is it?
- What is the relationship between feminism and gender equality in Central Asian countries?
- What is the role of language(s) in the feminist movement development?
- What is the future of feminism in Central Asia?
At the end of the project, a publication “Feminist Voices from Central Asia” presenting the goals, values and agenda of contemporary feminism in Central Asian countries, as well as its main narratives, was prepared on the basis of essays received from feminist organizations, movements and activists.
“Feminist Voices from Central Asia” is a project that concentrated on feminist organisations’ and movements’ positioning in the public discourse on contemporary ideas and narratives. It also probes the local feminist contexts of Central Asian countries, examines the movement’s potential and offers strategies and mechanisms for further promotion of feminist ideas in the region.
Project aim: Provide an opportunity for feminist organisations, movements and activists to present their goals, values and agendas; facilitate a positive public perception of feminism and the advancement of its ideas in the public discourse.
The project launched an open competition to write and publish essay manifestos that focused on the following issues:
- What are the aims, values and action agendas of feminist movements in each of the Central Asian countries?
- What are the most pressing issues in the functioning of your feminist organisation that require immediate legal, government-level and social remedies?
- What kind of problems and difficulties has your organisation faced in its operations?
- What is the role of contemporary feminism in the promotion of human rights in the countries of Central Asia?
- Why feminism is necessary in Central Asia and how relevant is it?
- What is the relationship between feminism and gender equality in Central Asian countries?
- What is the role of language(s) in the feminist movement development?
- What is the future of feminism in Central Asia?
At the end of the project, a publication “Feminist Voices from Central Asia” presenting the goals, values and agenda of contemporary feminism in Central Asian countries, as well as its main narratives, was prepared on the basis of essays received from feminist organizations, movements and activists.