Abstract:

The fertility rate has been considerably high in most regions of Central Asia compared to other former Soviet republics despite a history of Central Asian women exercising their reproductive choices, including freely receiving abortion services. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the reproductive rights of Central Asian women have been adversely affected by revived social traditions, the privatization of health service providers, the cost and scarcity of public health resources, changing government fertility regulation, and the decline of public childcare services, increasing childcare responsibilities.

In addition, CA governments have actively sought to direct women’s reproductive choices through the adoption and implementation of policies to control fertility, but these policies differ. The government of Tajikistan calls on families/couples to reduce fertility to mitigate (generational) poverty and improve livelihood. The government of Uzbekistan has taken a more severe direction to lower birth rates. According to the Sexual Rights initiative in 2008, the country introduced "compulsory sterilizations" in 2002 to control women's births. Compulsory application of intrauterine devices (IUD) and hysterectomy are commonly found among Uzbekistani women at the age of 25 and younger who have two children. In contrast, the government of Kazakhstan, where population aging has begun, has pursued a policy to increase fertility levels by encouraging women to bear more children (Rani, et al. 2006). While there is some research on women’s reproductive health in Central Asia, little attention has been paid to the issue of women’s reproductive choices and rights.

This paper seeks to fill this gap in the literature by, first, analyzing governments' actions and strategies to control births in five countries of post-Soviet Central Asia: Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. We then focus on two countries with the most recent Demographic Health Surveys and contrasting policies, Tajikistan (2017) and Kyrgyzstan (2012), to examine women's fertility preferences and decisions in the context of the country policies, drawing on the concept of "sense of entitlement" proposed by Petchesky and Judd (1998) to "illuminate the subjective component of 'rights' – what women feel entitled to (p. 187)." Finally, we use the DHS data to examine services to which women have access, evaluating the ways that reproductive preferences and outcomes vary with policy-related access to services and other factors, including social norms and household structure.

Abstract:

The social status and position in the family structure of daughters-in-law (kelins) in the

Kyrgyz society has been discussed previously and described as oppressed and influenced

by negative traditional practices. The present study explores the experience of young

women throughout wedding preparation during the first years of residing with the

husband’s parents. The study investigated the strategies that young women employed

during interactions with the in-laws throughout the stage of negotiation and decision-

making processes regarding wedding and future marital life. The results of 6 interviews

with recently married women were analyzed using the lens of Interpretative

Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Findings discuss the discursive positions which

respondents take during the interviews discussing their experience as brides and daughters-

in-law.

Abstract:

The study focuses on gender models and discourses among the women who were returned from “Islamic State” (IS/ISIS) to the Republic of Kazakhstan during special operation ‘Jusan’.

In post-Soviet Kazakhstan, monogamous secular marriage is legally established as a result of the Soviet system of gender relations which struggled with polygamy and kalym in 1920s Kazakhstan according to archival documents. The paper reveals the reactions of female-repatriates from IS, who came from secular monogamous families, to their new experience of gender relations based on polygamy, which they encountered in the "Islamic State". Four types of Kazakhstani women's attitudes towards polygamy within the framework of their life in the "Islamic State" can be identified. The first type is a negative attitude towards polygamy and a desire to get away from it even under the conditions of the "Islamic State". The second type is forced acceptance, but accompanied by internal discomfort and resentment. The third type is forced acceptance of polygamy because it is based on Islamic norms. The fourth type is a positive attitude towards polygamy and justification of its benefits for women.

The experience of gender relations gained in the "Islamic State" influenced them after returning. In particular, a significant proportion of women chose the path of marriage through nikah rather than civil marriage and a practicing Muslim as a husband. Women-representatives of the first and second discourse prefer monogamous marriage, while women who have accepted polygamy as a norm for themselves are ready and even prefer to marry a second and third wife.

Qualitative methodology was used as the research methodology, in particular interviews with female repatriates, as well as with psychologists and social workers of rehabilitation centers. The research was conducted in September-November 2020 as part of the study of Kazakhstan's experience of rehabilitation and reintegration of returnees from conflict zones.

Abstract:

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced many Russians to leave their country. The enormous outflow of skilled workforce may become a source of economic development for host countries. Kazakhstan, being interested in skilled migrants, should try to fix the Russian migration inflow, analyzing and exploiting various factors of its integration.

Since 63% of Russian migrants moved with their partners, and 19% of them were with their underage children (Kostenko, Zavadskaya, Kamalov, Sergeeva 2022), integration in the host country is related to the successful adaptation of family members with respect to their needs.

Our goal is to investigate the role of the family in migrants’ adaptation in Central Asia compared to other countries – to assess the role of gender, age, children, etc., as well as the path of integration. By adaptation we mean the characteristics of the social capital, such as the growing number of social ties (the number of acquaintances, the interaction with the strangers) as well as the trustworthiness at the new place.

To fulfill the goal, we use empirical data, collected within two online surveys, proposed to Russian migrants (300+ respondents) in May-October 2023. To make our conclusions more precise, we compare the peculiarities of the social capital of migrants to the social capital of those who still stay in Russia.

We show that there are statistically significant differences in adaptation strategies in the host country (a) for men and women; (b) for those who have children and those who have not. Additionally we show if these differences exist in the Central Asian countries, or there are other factors influencing the adaptation.