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- Convenors:
-
Rano Turaeva
(Ludwig Maximillian University of Munich)
Michele Commercio (University of Vermont)
Send message to Convenors
- Chairs:
-
Michele Commercio
(University of Vermont)
Rano Turaeva (Ludwig Maximillian University of Munich)
- Discussants:
-
Anna Cieslewska
(Collegium Civitas)
Aksana Ismailbekova (Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO))
Saodat Olimova (Research Center SHARQORIENS)
- Formats:
- Panel
- Theme:
- Anthropology & Archaeology
- Location:
- GA 1100
- Sessions:
- Saturday 22 October, -, -
Time zone: America/Indiana/Knox
:
Post-Soviet transformation of gender roles, family and marriage patterns is background context considered in the panel. The panel will address socio-economic and political aspects of polygamous relations focusing on second wives as well as marriage patterns and family structures.
Abstract:
Women’s “double burden” or even “multiple burden” brought on by the economic and political turmoil and challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union significantly worsened the situation of Central Asian women. One would expect that re-traditionalization of Central Asia and the return of Islam, which to some degree contributed to the process of re-patriarchalization of the kinship structures of Central Asian societies, would automatically imply absence of women’s agency. However, this would be an oversimplification of the situation which is far more complex. In the panel we would like to discuss how much of economic hardships, globalization, and increased migration have created not only challenges for female members of these Muslim dominated societies but also have created opportunities to negotiate between modernity and tradition. The post-Soviet period is marked with the creation of another image of women: specifically, women as fighters and as leaders who have survived economic difficulties and who have been the central figures in supporting their families fitting changing family structures, gender roles, as well as negotiating their agency in polygamic relationships. There are underlying common themes of women’s agency, decision-making power, and their ability to cope with various types of social, cultural, and economic situations. While women, are sometimes viewed as weak or powerless, they do demonstrate considerable control over their lives. Women innovatively negotiate and cope with the hurdles of often complicated traditional family arrangements and the challenges posed by their work life, and they find their own ways to actively create their own social networks. The panel will address socio-economic and political aspects of polygamous relations focusing on second wives as well as marriage patterns and family structures. Dr.Rano Turaeva will discuss various social status systems within different categories of female partners in Central Asia whereas Dr. Michele E. Commercio will discuss similar issues focusing on Kyrgyzstan. Dr.Anna Cieslewska and Saodat Olimova will address migration aspects of polygamous relationships between Russia and Central Asia. The discussion of polygamous relations and agency of women is nicely rounded by a more general approaches to marriage linking to economic securities and coping strategies discussed in the contribution of Dr.Aksana Ismailbekova based on the material on Uzbekistan and Kyrgystan.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Saturday 22 October, 2022, -Michele Commercio (University of Vermont)
Paper abstract:
Why would a woman agree to wed a legally married man when the state would neither recognize her marriage nor grant her alimony, child support or inheritance rights? Although the Communist Party curtailed the rate of openly acknowledged polygynous marriage among the Kyrgyz, its work was undone by glasnost and perestroika, which ushered in a permissive environment. This article highlights constructions of gender as a driver of polygyny in Kyrgyzstan from the perspective of women who voluntarily become second wives. The Kyrgyz case suggests that the cultural value of marriage and motherhood might lead a woman to consent to second-wife status I employ the concept of motivational interconnectivity to explain a woman’s decision to become a second wife.
Anna Cieslewska (Collegium Civitas)
Paper abstract:
This presentation focuses on transnational polygamous marriages of migrants from Central Asia in Russia and how transnational polygynous practices influence people’s understanding of marriage, love, and family. It will explore in which ways migrants engaged in transborder polygynous marriages negotiate their position within families. What are the perspectives of individuals involved in polygynous practices abroad considering the wider context of Islam, social perception of polygyny, and migrants’ situation in Russia. In which way do people manage their strategies, and how their cope with daily pressures to assert control in their marriages. How transborder polygyny affects the relationships with their extended families in Central Asia and Russia. And how polygyny can be seen as coping strategies related to economic survival as well as loneliness and psychological tensions experienced by migrants. The presentation will be based on the case studies of migrants from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan met by an author during field research conducted in Moscow between 2017-2019. The findings show a variety of practices and strategies used by individuals who live in multiple relationships. From the “true love story” of their own choice to pleasing their family by marrying the person selected by them to upgrading their status [in the case of women]. People are involved in temporary love affairs concluded only by the nikāḥ to follow the norms recognized by society, or they find a partner for pragmatic reasons.
Rano Turaeva (Ludwig Maximillian University of Munich)
Paper abstract:
The collapse of the Soviet Union had drastic political and economic effects on the dependent economies of Central Asia resulting in turmoil in the region. Further, the path taken by the Central Asian republics (except Kazakhstan) led to the slow erosion of the existing infrastructure and industrial production, which resulted in the loss of jobs and economic deficiency and the failure to provide the basic daily necessities. Some scholars of the post-Soviet transition have referred to this change as “de-development” or “de-modernization” which is characterized by the erosion of development. The same observations could also be heard from female residents of the region, many of whom marked the collapse of the Soviet Union as a beginning of going backwards. The paper will present case studies of women lovers, second wives, official wives and kelins to underline political economy of marriage patterns and social status in Central Asia. I advance the argument that there are various social hierarchies and opportunities within such marriage and relationship patterns which directly relate to the social status system and changing family structures in Central Asia.
Muzaffar Olimov (Tajik National University) Saodat Olimova (Research Center SHARQORIENS)
Paper abstract:
This article is devoted to a comparative analysis of polygamy patterns among transnational migrants and the stationary population of contemporary Tajikistan. Based on the results of three sociological studies, two of which were conducted in Tajikistan and one in Russia, as well as interviews with migrants (2005 - 2016), I studied the standards of socio-normative behavior in the matrimonial and sexual sphere for women and men in Tajikistan, marriage and sexual ethics in second marriages of migrants and non-migrants in Tajikistan. Based on a comparative analysis of different patterns of second marriages of migrants and non-migrants, I argue that polygamy of Tajik migrants with citizens of the host country is a variation of the "khonadomod" (“son-in-law at wife's house”) marriage. This ancient tradition is one of the ways Tajik migrants integrate into the host society. At the same time, the range of sexual and marriage practices is noticeably expanding in migration. Migrants' ideas about sexuality, about what is allowed and what is forbidden, about family and marriage roles are changing. The notions of "wife," "partner," "girlfriend", "mistress", "concubine" get different contents and imply different volume of rights and obligations of the parties depending on the country in which migrants and their relatives live. As for the non-mobile population of Tajikistan, second marriages have also undergone notable changes due to market reforms, post-Soviet social stratification and the breakdown of traditions under the pressure of globalization. In general, the phenomenon of "second wives" reflects the transformation of family and marriage behavior among the population of Tajikistan, as second marriages often become a cover for various variants of modern partnerships. Society is redefining and selecting permissible and condemned sexual and marriage practices. Within its framework, a new codification of models of family and marriage and sexual behavior is taking place. A comparative analysis of the various options for expanding the scope and meaning of normative behavior provides an opportunity to fill the gaps in the study of the process of collision of value and normative systems regulating demographic behavior in different cultural contexts.
Keywords: second wife, migrants, sexual behavior, marriage, socio-cultural norms, Tajikistan
Muzaffar Olimov (Tajik National University) Saodat Olimova (Research Center SHARQORIENS)
Paper abstract:
This paper studies the transformation of migrants' identity, changes in the civil, religious and ethnic components of identity, role of migrant networks, diaspora organizations, Muslim communities, religious life institutions (mosques, prayer rooms, religious groups and networks) in these processes. The study is based on surveys of Tajik migrants in Russia and Tajikistan in 2010, 2014 and 2017, and interviews with migrants and religious leaders in 2014 - 2021.
In the mobile transnational community of migrants and their households who live in a constant movement between Tajikistan and Russia, complex multicomponent identities are formed, in which both Tajikistan and Russia are present. Almost half of migrants identify themselves with Tajik citizenship. Tajik state policy that restricts religious activity has a complex impact on both religious identity and citizenship. At the same time, ethnic identity becomes much more important in Russia than in Tajikistan. The religious component of identity is also changing. All these circumstances create a mosaic, flexible and constantly changing identity of Tajik migrants.
The paper shows that migration transforms identity: a) on a personal level: the content, weight, and ratio of individual components of identity change; b) on a level of social institutions: growing influence of migrant compatriot networks, religious communities acquire a network character; c) on a level of the religious component of identity: the transition from local to global Islam.
Mosques, and migrant networks contribute to formation of new identities of migrants, connecting the citizenship of Russia and Tajikistan with an increased importance of ethnic and religious identity. On the one hand, this creates a basis for emergence of an “ethnic Muslim” identity, and on the other, it sharpens a sense of solidarity with the global Ummah.
The influx of migrants to Russian mosques contributes to the exacerbation of contradictions between Islamic integrism and nationalism, local traditions and global Islam. New communication technologies and the Internet connect local Muslim communities in Tajikistan, and migrant communities in Russia with other regions of the world. This leads to a diversification of Islamic orientations and a spread of global Islam.
Aksana Ismailbekova (Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO))
Paper abstract:
This paper illustrates the dynamics of the Uzbek marriage system and new forms of care, material and moral support for young married women in southern Kyrgyzstan. My ethnographic research shows tremendous concern among parents to ensure daughters' livelihoods and to help them cope with the insecurity arising in their lives in both peaceful and conflict-ridden times. The main forms of solidarity extend to all aspects of caring for their daughters and their respective family members. These observations contrast with the existing regional and Western literatures on Central Asian Muslim societies, which have emphasized the predominance of patriarchy and patrilineality, but have under-studied the significance of other types of kin-based relationships. This chapter will show the importance of some of these in Central Asia, focusing in particular on care strategies for daughters and matrilocal ideas. This care is connected to the local idea of treating daughters as vulnerable (Uzb. Ojiza) and the ideal of providing for a daughter’s ‘security’ in marriage. Ojiza is a strategy of individuals in patriarchy, through which women can exert a degree of agency in using this attribution to call for support. My recent research has revealed other relations within local kinship systems such as the importance of the mother and her relatives for the maintenance and advancement of a household, the importance of a mother’s brother and his support role, and the importance of having extensive knowledge of kin on the mother’s side.