Abstract

This roundtable examines the sharp disconnect between state-sponsored or public discourses on "traditional values" and the lived, everyday experiences of women navigating polygamy in contemporary Kyrgyzstan. Centered around the documentary Mafia of Her Own by Janyl Jusupjan, the panel bridges ethnographic filmmaking with regional socio-political scholarship. Through the screening of selected film excerpts and commentary from the director, the discussion analyzes the severe, often obscured consequences of polygynous arrangements on the psychological well-being, social vulnerability, and life prospects of women and children. By focusing on how women internalize and endure this system, this panel explores gender vulnerability, legal precarity, and the power of cinema to break societal taboos in Central Asia.