Opinions

Who is Kazakh Woman, and Who Gets to Decide?

By Aida Haidar  on 2 April 2026

There is a particular confidence with which societies talk about women, especially other people’s women. Labels come easily: traditional, obedient, oppressed, resilient. Central Asian women, and Kazakh women in particular, have long lived under the weight of these borrowed descriptions. But the more I spoke with researchers while working...