Country Overview

This section provides background information about:

• Where is Kazakhstan?
• Brief History
• A Few Facts About Current Day Kazakhstan
• Women's Rights in Kazakhstan
• Domestic Violence
• Trafficking

Where is Kazakhstan?

Kazakhstan, a former Central Asian republic of the now defunct Soviet Union, became an independent country in December of 1991. It is now a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States ("CIS").

Kazakhstan is a giant of a country, the 8th largest in the world, stretching over a vast portion of Central Asia and sharing borders with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and the Caspian Sea. Despite its large size, it is only the 57th most populated country in the world, with a total population of a little over 15 million in 2005. The enormous Kazakh Steppe is the largest temperate steppe region in the world, covered by grasslands and dry, sandy semidesert regions.

For more information about Kazakhstan, see the U.S. Department of State Web site: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5487.htm.

Brief History

Since the Stone Age, people in Kazakhstan have lived a pastoral nomadic life, with numerous nomadic empires coming and going. In the early 13th Century, Mongolia's Chinggis Khan (also known as Ghengiz Khan or Jenghiz Khan) stormed into the territory and made it a part of the Mongol Empire. The Kazakhs emerged from the descendants of the Mongols, Turkic and other peoples who survived the Mongols' conquering of the territory. Mongol control disintegrated in the 14th and 15th centuries, and by the late 15th and 16th centuries the Kazakhs had risen to establish one of the world's last great nomadic empires. During this time Kazakhstan was controlled by three nomadic tribes or "hordes," each of which was ruled by a khan. It was also during this time that the Kazakhs developed a common language, culture, and economy.

Despite the great military powers of the three hordes, they did not unite and were unable to resist foreign invaders, including the Russians.

In the 18th and 19th century, the Russian Empire began to expand into Central Asia. By the mid to late 1800s, Russia had tightened its control over the Kazakh territory, brutally suppressing rebellion and using Kazakhstan as a place to exile dissidents (including Fyodor Dostoevsky). Following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 Russia, and then the Soviet Union, effectively ruled over most of the territory that is now Kazakhstan, with Kazakhstan officially becoming a Soviet Republic in 1936.

As part of its domination, Russia enforced the Russian language in Kazakh schools and government organizations. An even larger change was the "de-nomadisation," which began in the 1920s. The nomadic population of Kazakhstan was forced to become farmers, living on collectives. The forced collectivization led to severe famine and starvation. As Russia strove to industrialize Kazakhstan it also changed the face of the country by deporting hundreds of thousands of Russians into Kazakhstan to build up industrial cities.

An even larger, and devastating effect of Soviet control occurred during the cold war years when the Soviet Union decided to use Kazakhstan's vast steppes for its chief nuclear testing ground. After a series of protests the Soviet Union finally ceased nuclear testing in Kazakhstan in 1989.

A Few Facts About Current Day Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is the wealthiest of the Central Asian countries, due in large part to its rich natural resources (primarily oil, gas and coal). Since the collapse of the Soviet Union Kazakhstan's political system has been based on a constitutional republic with a powerful presidency that serves as the head of state. President Nursultan Nazarbayev has been in office since 1993 and recently won a new 7-year term in the December 2005 election.

The majority of Kazakstanis are either ethnic Kazakhs (roughly about 58%) or Russians (about 27%). The remaining 15% of the population are a mix of Ukranian, Uzbek, German, Korean, Uyghur and other minorities. Religion in Kazakhstan very roughly follows ethnic lines, with Kazakhs traditionally being Muslims and people of Russian descent being Russian Orthodox. A small percentage of the population (about two percent) are Jews, Catholics or Pentacostalists.

Kazakhstan is a bilingual country with Kazakh being the state language (spoken by about 64% of the population) and Russian being the "official" language, often used in business. Kazakhstanis are highly literate, with a literacy rate of over 98% and universal, mandatory education through the secondary level (high school).

Women's Rights in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan leads the way in women's rights in Central Asia. The 1995 constitution defends women's rights by guaranteeing citizens the right to work and forbidding discrimination on the basis of geographic origin, gender, race, nationality, religion, political belief or language. Although there is currently no definition of discrimination, the Kazakh government is apparently drafting a law on equal opportunities, which addresses equality in employment, education and political representation.

In Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan and still the center of business, men and women wear fashionable western clothes and carry cell phones, and the status of women does not appear to be all that different from the status of women in any large city in Europe or North America. However, most Kazakhstani women agree that there is still much progress to be made for the advancement of women.

In ancient times, some evidence suggests that women in Kazakhstan had strong roles in society, serving as warriors and priestesses. (See http://www.csen.org/WomenWarriors/Statuses_Women_Warriors.html.) However, through much of Kazakhstan's history the culture maintained a patriarchal system, with the father being the head of the family and holding most leadership positions, and with women's primary role being that of mother and wife - although the Kazakh's nomadic lifestyle required women to be very strong and capable people in order to help ensure the family's survival.

Although many Kazkhs are Muslim, at least by tradition (the Soviet Union restricted religious practices for many years), Muslims in Kazakhstan are less conservative and women do not traditionally wear a yashmak (the face veil worn by women in other Islamic countries) and have much more independence than women in other Islamic countries.

During the years when Kazakhstan was part of the Soviet Union, the Soviet government provided many rights to women - at least on paper - including the right to participate in politics and employment. Although the government also encouraged the traditional roles of women as mothers and caregivers, it opened up many opportunities for women to participate in public life. Government-sponsored social services such as day care and an equal educational system provided women the means to work outside the home and to be active participants in business and politics.

Since Kazakhstan became independent in 1991, women have suffered more than men from the effects of the transition. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan lost many social services, such as free day care, which suddenly made it harder for women to work outside the home. At the same time, as Kazakhstan was establishing its new independence, public opinion favored returning to traditional gender roles, including giving women the primary responsibility for child-rearing and housework. As businesses suffered from the loss of Soviet subsidies, women were the first to be fired and the last to be hired. Women's salaries have also declined in relation to men's.

Women also lost ground in political representation with a decline from approximately 30% to about 11% representation in the highest legislative organ of the country. Although the government voices support for furthering women's rights, women's NGOs in Kazakhstan note that women tend to hold positions of deputy leaders instead of high-level positions. For instance, none of Kazakhstan's regional governors are women and none of the candidates in the 2005 presidential election were women.

Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is a serious problem in Kazakhstan and in 1998 the President declared the fight against domestic violence to be a national priority. Despite the fact that the government has acknowledged the issue, domestic violence remains a prevalent problem. Some statistics estimate that as many as 30% of women in Kazakhstan have experienced some form of physical or psychological domestic violence at least once. In its 2003 Country Human Rights Report, the U.S. Department of State cited a Ministry of Interior study that found that fifty-two percent of women had reported domestic violence, but only thirty percent of the cases were prosecuted. There are currently no laws specifically criminalizing domestic violence although a draft law is apparently in the works. For the time being, domestic violence must be prosecuted under the general assault and battery provisions of the criminal code.

Trafficking

Trafficking in women and girls is also an issue in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is a source, transit and destination country for victims of trafficking. Although much work needs to be done to prevent trafficking and to assist victims of trafficking, the government has taken some steps, including appointing the Minister of Justice to coordinate initiatives to counter trafficking and to head an anti-trafficking commission composed of government officials.