Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.22679/avs.2021.6.1.001

Transforming Understanding of Women's Rights in Kyrgyz Madrassas  

SEITALIEVA, GULMIZA (Philosophy Department of the International University of Kyrgyzstan)
Publication Information
Acta Via Serica / v.6, no.1, 2021 , pp. 1-30 More about this Journal
Abstract
Education is a key element in shaping the worldview of the next generation and determines society's core values, ideology, and basic understanding of human rights. While Kyrgyzstan is a secular state, Islamic education, backed by Arab and Turkish sponsors, continues to increase in popularity with the construction of thousands of mosques and dozens of new Islamic educational institutions. Young women have become an important target for Islamic ideology and Islamic educational institutions seek to introduce a new type of ideal woman who is obedient, submissive, and modest. This research uses curricula content analysis, participant observation, and in-depth interviews with teachers and students to examine the effects of newly introduced Islamic education institutions and concludes that the schools are succeeding in training female Kyrgyz students for sheltered lives of dependency, threatening to fundamentally erode women's rights in the country. Two tasks thus demand the attention of policymakers: preserving Kyrgyzstan's secular state and introducing new interpretations of the Quran, which strengthen support for women's rights among believers.
Keywords
Women's rights; discrimination; Islamic education; secular education; secular state universities; Muftiayt; Quran;
Citations & Related Records
연도 인용수 순위
  • Reference
1 Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia. 2008. "Integration of Islamic Education Institutions in the General Public and Issues of Modernization of Islamic Educational Institutions. Bishkek.
2 Forum of Women's NGOs of Kyrgyzstan. 2020. "Appeal to Political Parties. Accessed August, 2020. http://forumofwomenngos.kg/ru/.
3 Fostering and Monitoring of the Education Reforms in the Kyrgyz Republic. 2016. The Gender and Inclusive Dimension of Education in Kyrgyzstan: An Analytical Review. https://monitoring.edu.kg/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/gender_model.pdf.
4 Khandayani, Sri Vening. 2005. Gender-Differential Transition Period. Soviet Legacy and NewRisks: Gender Assessment of the Country. Regional Department for East and Central Asia and Department for Regional and Sustainable Development. Asian Development Bank. https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/institutional-document/149209/cga-kyrgyz-republic-ru.pdf
5 Kleinbach, Russell, Mehrigul Ablezova and Medina Aitieva. 2005. "Kidnapping for Marriage (ala kachuu) in Kyrgyz Village. Central Asian Survey, 24 (2): 191-202.   DOI
6 Government of the Kyrgyz Republic. 2014. Resolution 203 on the Concept of State Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Religious Sphere for 2014-2020. http://cbd.minjust.gov.kg/act/view/ru-ru/68293.
7 Handrahan, Lori M. 2001. "Gender and Ethnicity in the 'Transitional Democracy' of Kyrgyzstan. Central Asian Survey 20, no. 4: 467-96.   DOI
8 Holzchen, Yanti. 2017. "Religious Education and Cultural Change: The Case of Madrasas in Northern Kyrgyzstan. In Approaching Ritual Economy: Socio-Cosmic Field in Globalized Contexts, edited by Roland Hardenberg, 105-135. Tubingen: Roland Hardenberg.
9 Kurbanova, Nazira. 2014. "Islamskoe obrazovanie v Kyrgyzstane. Centralnay Azia I Kavkaz (Центральная Азия и Кавказ. Том 17. Выпуск 1): 102-116.
10 Louw Maria Elisabeth. 2007. Everyday Islam in Post-Soviet Central Asia. Oxford: Routledge.
11 Malikov K. 2010. The Muslim Community of Kyrgyzstan: Social Activity at the Present Stage. Bishkek: American University of Central Asia Social Research Center.
12 Nasritdinov E., Z. Urmanbetova, K. Murzakhalilov, and M. Myrzabaev. 2019. "Vulnerability and Resilience of Young People in Kyrgyzstan to Radicalization and Extremism: An Analysis in Five Areas of Life. SAP, no. 212, January
13 Niyozov, Sarfaroz and Nadeem Memon. 2011. "Islamic Education and Islamization: Evolution of Themes, Continues and New Directions. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 31, no. 1: 5-30.   DOI
14 Ombudsmen of the Kyrgyz Republic. 2019. On the Observance of Human and Civil Rights and Freedoms in the Kyrgyz Republic in 2018.
15 Orwell, George. 2020. 1984. Perev. s English V. Golyshev. Moscow: AST.
16 Osmonova D.A. 2018. "Gendernie otnoshenia I gendernay politica v Kyrgyz Republic. Megdunarodny jurnal prikladnih I fundamentalnyh issledivaniy 12, no. 2: 335-339.
17 Jalil R. 2017. "Religiousness of the Society of Kyrgyzstan." In Islam, Society and Politics in Central Asia, edited by Jones Pauline. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
18 Kassymbekova, Botakoz. 2011. "Islamic Education in the Soviet Union and Successors States. Jahrbucher fur Geshichte Osteuropas 59, no 3: 461-463.
19 President of the Kyrgyz Republic. 2014. Decree of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, No. 203 - The Concept of State Policy in the Religious Sphere for 2014-2020. http://cbd.minjust.gov.kg/act/view/ru-ru/68294.
20 Reetz, Dietrich. 2010. From Madrasa to University - the Challenges and Formats of Islamic Education. In The SAGE Handbook of Islamic Studies, edited by Akbar S. Ahmed and Tamara Sonn. London: SAGE Publications.
21 Segal S. Edwin and Seitalieva Gulmiza. 2010. Local Custom and Resurgent Islam in Kyrgyzstan. Journal of Central Asian Studies 9, no. 1: 37-47.
22 Seitalieva, Gulmiza. 2020. "Performance i vosstanie mass protiv prav jenshin. (Performance and the Revolt of the Masses against Women's Rights). Nauka, novie technology i innovazii Kyrgyzstana no. 1 (January): 142-148.
23 Seitalieva, Gulmiza. 2005. "Renaissance Islama v nezavisimom Kyrgyzstane. Vestnic Eurasia Nezavisimiy nauchniy journal / Acta Eurasica 3, no. 29: 126-151.
24 Seitalieva, Gulmiza. 2009. Women's Rights in Kyrgyz Culture and Society under the Influence of Islam. Research Partnership Programme. The Danish Institute for Human Rights, no.2.
25 Tadjbakhsh, Sh. 1998. "Between Lenin and Allah: Women and Ideology in Tajikistan. In Women in Muslim Societies: Diversity within Unity, edited by Herbert L. Bodman and Nayereh Tohidi, 179-199. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
26 Tasar, Eren. 2011."Islamic Education in the Soviet Union and Its Successor States. Ab Imperio, April: 452-457.
27 The Glorious Qur'an: 1st English Edition. 2000. Translated by Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall. New York: Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an Inc.
28 Tlostanova, M.V. 2009. Dekolonialnye gendernye epistemologii. Moscow: PC, Maska.
29 Werner, Cynthia, Christopher Edling, Charles Becker, Elena Kim, Russell Kleinbach, Fatima Esengeldievna Sartbay and Woden Teachout. 2018. "Bride Kidnapping in Post-Soviet Eurasia: a Roundtable Discussion. Central Asia Survey 37, no. 4. (September): 582-601.   DOI
30 Yerzhanova, Azhar 2017.Bride Kidnapping. Divulging the On-going Struggle Against Bride Kidnapping, a Central Asian Ancient Custom Where Men Marry Women They Kidnap Off the Street. The Gazelle, April 2. https://www.thegazelle.org/ issue/109/in-focus/bride-kidnapping.
31 Zhou, Youyou. 2020. "These are the countries most affected by the falling remittance sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic. Quartz Media, April 9. https://qz.com/1834566/falling-remittances-will-hit-tonga-haiti-and-kyrgyzstan-hardest/.
32 Mirmamatova, R.A and Mamadaliyev I.A. 2014. On the Issue of Emancipation of Females-Muslims in Middle Asia in the Second Half of the 19th to the Beginning of the 20th Centuries (on the Material of Turkestan Collection). Vestnik Tajik State University of Law, Business, and Policy, Series of Social Sciences, no. 2: 149-155.
33 Stephan, Manja. 2010. "Education, Youth and Islam: The Growing Popularity of Private Religious Lessons in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Central Asian Survey 29, no. 4: 469-483.   DOI
34 United Nations Population Fund. 2016. Gender in Society Perception Study. National Survey Results. https://kyrgyzstan.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/GSPS_english.pdf.
35 Huxley, Aldous. 2000. Brave New World Revisited (First Perennial Classics Edition). New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
36 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). 2016. Gender in the Perception of Society. Results of a National Survey. file:///D:/PhD/GSPS_Гендер_Final%20report.pdf
37 Abramson, David M. 2010. Foreign Religious Education and the Central Asian Islamic Revival: Impact and Prospects for Stability. Johns Hopkins University-SAIS.
38 Achilov, Dilshod. 2012. "Islamic Education in Central Asia: Evidence from Kazakhstan. Asia Policy, no. 14: 79-106.
39 Achilov, Dilshod and Renat Shaykhudinov. 2011. "Islamic Revival. Education and Radicalism in Central Asia. The Journal of Central Asia Studies 20, no 1: 37-59.
40 Ahsan, Muhammad. 2012. "Women and Human Development in the Muslim World. Reflections on Islamic and UNDP's Approaches. In Women in Islam: Reflections on Historical and Contemporary Research, edited by Terence Lovat. Dordrecht: Springer Science + Business Media.
41 Commercio, Michele. 2020. "Don't Become a Lost Specimen!: Polygyny and Motivational Interconnectivity in Kyrgyzstan. Central Asian Survey 39, no 3: 340-360.   DOI
42 Commercio, Michele and Juliette Cleuziou. 2016. "Poligamia v Centralnoy Azii: vzglyad s raznyh uglov - A Man with Two Hearts and Two Lives: Polygamy in Central Asia. Central Asian Analytical Network, May. https://www.caa-network.org/archives/7076
43 Government of the Kyrgyz Republic. 2021. The Role of Religious Educational Institutions in the Formation of Civic Identity of Madrasa Students in the Kyrgyz Republic. March 18, 2021. http://religion.gov.kg/ru/post/460
44 Bulan Institute for Peace Innovations. 2017. Religious Education in Kyrgyzstan: Madrassas Needs Urgent Reform, April.
45 Chotaev Z.D. 2016. The Influence of the Religious Factor on the Socio-Political Situation in the Kyrgyz Republic: A Sociological Study. Bishkek: State Commission for Religious Affairs.
46 Cieslewska, Anna. 2017. Islam with a Female Face: How Women are Changing the Religious Landscape in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Krakow: Ksiegarnia Akademicka.
47 Commercio, Michele. 2015. "The Rise of Polygyny in Kyrgyzstan: A Consequence of the Country's Post-Soviet Islamic Revival? Conference Paper, Central Eurasian Studies Society, George Washington University, Washington DC.
48 EFCA. 2008. Integration of Institutions of Islamic Education in the General Public and Issues of Modernization of Islamic Educational Institutions in the Kyrgyz Republic. EFCA Report, Bishkek.