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Abstract

The paper will feature major points of the study on how local commercials and advertisements define and portray the female images and contribute to the shaping of female identity accepted by society in the Kyrgyz Republic by exploring the image of a married woman. The research is based on analysis of visuals of females in commercials and psychosocial reasons behind the images, proposes suggestions and outlooks through content analysis and qualitative case studies. The existing literature on the rights of women in Central Asia suggests the description of “kelin” (translated from most of the Turkic languages as the one who came –daughter-in-law) as having the lowest status in family hierarchy, submissive and subservient as well as having almost no rights or say in her husband’s family. Research undertaken on the topic of daughters-in-law in different Central Asian countries revealed that kelins undergo discriminatory and exploitative treatment from the side of their in-laws. Most often times, fall out of even the gender relations in society as these married young females are regarded as almost the third gender against the background of different treatment toward unmarried daughters. Popular media, films and local TV series had long utilized the topic of daughters-in-law in the family hierarchy, often forming and transmitting desired behavior and values. However, the same image or at least the image of a married woman depicted in advertisements are overlooked in Central Asia.