Bishkek, September 8, 2022 - The Council for Women, Children and Gender Equality under the Speaker of the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic held an expanded meeting with the participation of Members of Parliament, state bodies, representatives of civil society, and human rights activists working in the field of protecting the rights of women, children and promoting gender equality, where it discussed the Council’s action plan to advance the rights and opportunities of women and children for 2022-2024.

“Violence against women and children is growing every day. Violence is not a problem of women only; it is a problem for the whole society. We need to find the root cause of violence, investigate the causes and address this problem in the bud. There is an urgent need to take stock of legislation on violence and develop cutting-edge laws that will protect women and children,” said Kamilla Taliyeva, MP.

According to the Association of Crisis Centers, the number of cases of sexual violence is growing every year. As shared by the Director of the Association of Crisis Centers Tolkun Tilekova,  the number of cases of sexual violence reported to law enforcement agencies has increased from 207 in 2017 to , 772 in 2019.

“There is no help system. A victim of sexual violence is forced to seek help on her own, look for medicines, be examined for HIV AIDS, even go for abortions,” says Tilekova.

During the meeting, members of the secretariat of the Council proposed to create a Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Women and Children under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic. Nazgul Turdubekova, chairman of the League of Children's Rights Defenders Public Foundation, supported the creation of the committee.

He stated that “the issue of violence against women and children needs to be addressed at the level of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic. I support the initiative of the deputies as it is necessary to create a committee for the protection of the rights of women and children under the president at the level of regions, districts and ayil okmotu. The situation is getting worse every day, all measures must be developed swiftly, we must fight violence for the safety of every woman and child.

During the meeting, the Council also prioritized the development and approval of the Comprehensive State Policy Strategy for the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Women and Children, the creation of a dialogue platform between deputies and voters, as well as the development of the concept of anti-discrimination legislation in accordance with the draft National Action Plan for Gender Equality for 2022-2024.

Zulfiya Kochorbaeva, Director of Agency of Social Technologies believes that the Council should focus on legislative initiatives and promote the adoption of laws against gender-based violence, as well as on the control function of the parliament for the implementation of gender equality-related  legislation. It is also necessary, through the adoption of new special measures, to ensure the broad representation of women in political positions in all state bodies, as well as to increase the participation of male deputies in the work of the Council in order to increase awareness of issues of violence, gender equality and ensure the adoption of relevant laws.

UNDP Spotlight Initiative provides technical support in the development of a draft Law of the Kyrgyz Republic, “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Kyrgyz Republic Regulating Issues in the Field of Domestic and Gender-Based Violence,” and in finalizing the draft Law of the Kyrgyz Republic  “On amendments to the Labor Code of the Kyrgyz Republic” (LC) concerning liability for harassment in the workplace. The Council will be one of the platforms for the promotion of progressive legislation.

The work of the Council is supported by the United Nations Development Programme within the framework of the UN-EU Spotlight Initiative.

General Information

The Council coordinates the activities of the Jogorku Kenesh with state bodies, civil society, international organizations on women's rights, gender equality and children's rights.

• Improving the national legal framework to strengthen promotion and protection of women's and children's rights and gender equality;

• Assistance in the introduction of gender approaches and the best interest of the child in national policies and state programs in the fulfillment of the international obligations of the Kyrgyz Republic in the field of protection of the rights of women, children and gender equality;

• Carrying out monitoring of the implementation of normative legal acts in the field of protection of the rights of women and children, gender-based violence and discrimination.

Media contacts

Ainagul Abdrakhmanova, Communications Officer at ainagul.abdrakhmanova@undp.org or by phone: +996 770 183493