In 2024, a comprehensive analytical brief was prepared on the situation of women with disabilities in the Kyrgyz Republic. The document highlights not only the existing legal and social barriers, but also proposes concrete steps to ensure equal access of women with disabilities to rights, freedoms, and opportunities. The study is based on international standards, including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and incorporates an analysis of local practices, with the participation of women facing multiple forms of discrimination.

Challenges and Objectives

Women with disabilities are among the most vulnerable groups in Kyrgyzstan. They often face double discrimination — on the grounds of both disability and gender. The analytical brief identified the following key challenges:

• Limited access to education and healthcare;

• Insufficient protection from violence;

• Difficulties in accessing social support;

• Barriers to employment and economic independence;

• Low representation in politics and decision-making processes.

The chart provides a visualization of the key barriers faced by women with disabilities in Kyrgyzstan. The bars are sorted in descending order — from the most pressing issues to the less pronounced ones. The color scheme highlights the diversity of problem areas. No precise statistical data are available for these findings. 

The purpose of this document is to provide a basis for the development of national policies that take into account the needs of women with disabilities and ensure their equal rights.

Legal Analysis

The analytical brief highlights that, despite the formal recognition of the rights of women with disabilities in national strategies and laws, their practical implementation remains limited. The key findings are as follows:

• Legislation does not always provide clear mechanisms for the realization of rights;

• There is a lack of effective oversight of compliance with the rights of women with disabilities;

• Access to legal and informational resources remains extremely limited.

Women’s Stories: Voices that Matter

The document places particular emphasis on qualitative data: interviews and personal stories of women with disabilities. These accounts point to systemic obstacles such as:

• Dismissive attitudes in healthcare institutions;

• Distrust and bias from law enforcement authorities when seeking protection from violence;

• Lack of physical accessibility in government buildings and employment centers.

Key Observations and Conclusions

The likelihood of discrimination against women and girls with disabilities is higher than that experienced by men and boys with disabilities, as well as women and girls without disabilities.

• • The understanding of disability in the legal and policy framework of the Kyrgyz Republic does not align with international standards; discriminatory terms such as “invalid,” “children with disabilities,” “blind,” “deaf,” and others are still used.

  • The principle of non-discrimination is reflected only in certain normative acts, without addressing issues of multiple discrimination. Many laws are gender-neutral and nearly all are not inclusive.

  • One of the most common forms of violence faced by women and girls with disabilities is domestic violence. However, the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On Protection from Domestic Violence” does not define specific safeguards for them, does not incorporate international standards, and does not provide measures to overcome communication barriers.

  • To ensure the right to access to justice and prevent discrimination, the state must guarantee reasonable accommodation. Yet, this concept, as defined by international standards, is absent from the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic.

  • The Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) of the Kyrgyz Republic does not allow the application of provisions from other normative acts within criminal proceedings. For example, the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On the Rights and Guarantees of Persons with Disabilities” provides for the use of facsimile signatures when individuals are physically unable to sign documents; however, this is not applicable in criminal proceedings.

  • The CPC of the Kyrgyz Republic does not contain provisions enabling persons with disabilities to use the services of a sign language interpreter or other technical means at the pre-investigation stage. There are also no provisions ensuring access to other technical aids, assistants, or intermediaries, including guides and readers, as required under obligations to the CRPD.

• The infrastructure of law enforcement agencies is largely unable to ensure physical accessibility to justice. Informational accessibility is also almost absent, particularly for those with visual and hearing impairments.

• • The majority of cases of violence against women in the Kyrgyz Republic fall under the category of semi-private prosecution, which places the burden of evidence collection on the victims, essentially requiring them to act as their own lawyers. Given the limited access to free legal aid under the State Guaranteed Legal Aid Program (SGLA), victims’ rights remain unprotected, while perpetrators often go unpunished. International standards call for abandoning the practice of terminating cases of violence on the basis of reconciliation and require that responsibility for criminal prosecution rests with the state.

  • The provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) allow, but do not oblige, prosecutors or investigators to initiate a criminal case on behalf of a woman with disabilities, creating corruption risks.

  • During pre-trial proceedings, victims mainly receive support from non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

  • Deposition of testimony, the possibility of questioning the victim at their place of residence, and holding court hearings offsite are almost never applied in practice.

  • Provisions of the CPC that prevent individuals, who due to mental or physical impairments are deemed unable to correctly perceive circumstances relevant to the case and testify, from being questioned as witnesses contradict international standards, which state that the right to participate in criminal proceedings must not depend on a person’s mental health.

  • Delays in implementing protective measures against threats from the accused, pressure from their relatives, indifference and permissiveness by law enforcement, low inclusivity and gender sensitivity among officers, and stereotypes based on gender and disability when women or girls with disabilities attempt to report violence — all these factors undermine the safety of victims, complicate their situation, reduce the effectiveness of investigations, and erode trust in law enforcement and judicial institutions.

  • The lack of technical capacity to conduct DNA analysis in the Kyrgyz Republic highlights the need to develop and modernize the technical infrastructure of the justice sector.

  • Effective protection of women and girls with disabilities who have survived violence cannot be ensured by a single state or non-state body alone. Insufficient interagency cooperation and coordination are further complicated by a lack of human, technical, and financial resources, low gender competence and sensitivity among staff, institutional instability, and inadequate cooperation with civil society and local self-government bodies.

  • International standards require that women and girls with disabilities who have survived violence be provided not only with legal assistance, but also with access to healthcare, psychological support, protection from further violence, and measures to address their long-term needs.

  • None of the crisis centers in the country has adequate infrastructure for survivors with disabilities. Likewise, other support service facilities are not sensitive to their needs.

  • The legal framework of the Kyrgyz Republic contains gaps with respect to the criminalization and establishment of proportionate sanctions for several forms of violence, which does not fully comply with international standards.

  • Compensation for moral damage is an important aspect of restoring justice and alleviating the consequences for the victim. In practice, however, enforcement of judgments related to compensation for material and moral damages faces challenges: such judgments are often not enforced and are returned to the claimant due to the offender’s lack of property.

  • In cases of domestic violence handled under the Administrative Liability Code, compensation for material and moral damages is not provided at all.

Recommendations

The brief puts forward a set of concrete recommendations to improve the situation:

• Bring the terminology such as “persons with disabilities” and “сrippled” in Kyrgyz legislation into compliance with international standards, based on the social and legal model of disability, and recognize persons with disabilities as full citizens with guaranteed rights;

• Ensure access to justice with reasonable accommodation, in line with international standards, and legally define refusal to provide reasonable accommodation as an unacceptable form of discrimination;

• Amend the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) and the Code of Offenses (CoO) to take into account the specific features of cases of violence against women and girls with disabilities;

• Hold state bodies accountable for inaction and optimize judicial proceedings to ensure the timely resolution of cases of violence against persons with disabilities;

• Develop and introduce measures to improve the process of collecting and preserving evidence in cases of gender-based violence;

• Introduce mandatory participation of lawyers for victims with disabilities at all stages of the investigation process, provide the right to choose an investigator of the same gender where possible, and ensure no direct contact between victims and perpetrators;

• Collect gender-disaggregated data on survivors of violence with different forms of disability and design measures based on these data to ensure equality;

• Introduce mandatory training for law enforcement officers, legal professionals, social workers, and healthcare providers on the specific aspects of protecting persons with disabilities, particularly women and girls, from violence, in order to prevent discrimination and stereotypes from influencing access to justice;

• Integrate gender-sensitive and inclusive norms into standards of service provision, and ensure that technical regulations consider the needs of persons with different types of disabilities;

• Place government orders aimed at combating stereotypes, improving the status of women and girls with disabilities in society, and supporting crisis centers that provide services for women and girls with disabilities who are survivors of violence;

• Strengthen the review of draft laws and regulations (NPAs) for their sensitivity to the needs of women and girls with disabilities;

• Establish mechanisms to monitor the interaction of all components of the law enforcement system in the protection against gender-based violence, particularly regarding women and girls with disabilities;

• Conduct awareness-raising campaigns to challenge stereotypes and stigmatization of persons with disabilities, as well as to disseminate information to them about their rights and available protection mechanisms;

• Engage civil society organizations representing persons with disabilities in the development and evaluation of state programs;

• Ensure accessible emergency notification systems and hotlines for persons with various forms of disability, as well as 24/7 support services for women and girls with disabilities, including psychological and economic assistance;

• Provide for compensation for material damages and moral harm for women and girls with disabilities who have survived violence, through the establishment of a dedicated fund.

The analytical brief emphasizes the necessity of actively implementing international obligations, including:

• The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD);

• The UN Sustainable Development Goals (particularly Goals 5 and 10);

• The recommendations of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Women with disabilities must become full participants in the political, social, and economic life of Kyrgyzstan.
The analytical brief serves as an important step toward the systemic transformation of approaches and policies — from formal recognition to genuine inclusion and equality. It underscores that without considering the voices of women with disabilities themselves, it is impossible to build a just society, and that change must take place on a systemic and long-term basis.

📖 Read more in the analytical brief: https://jbm.boo.mybluehost.me/website_b75f81f3/info/analiticheskaya-zapiska/

The project is funded by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI).