On June 18, 2024, regional consultations were held for the Chui region and Bishkek to discuss proposals to amend the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On State Guarantees of Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Men and Women.”

The event was attended by Ms.Kamila Talieva-Deputy of the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic, representatives of state and municipal bodies, civil society of the Chui region and the mayor’s office of Bishkek, Mr.Mamat uulu Chyngyzbek-Deputy Minister of Labor, Social Protection and Migration of the Kyrgyz Republic, Ms. Gulmira Kyshtobaeva-Deputy Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Chui region, members of the interdepartmental working group, media, experts, representatives of international organizations.

Regional consultations to discuss proposals to amend the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On State Guarantees of Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Men and Women” have already been held in Talas, Naryn, Issyk-Kul regions, and online in Batken, Jalal-Abad, and Osh regions.

At the regional consultations, views were exchanged on the issues of amending the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On State Guarantees of Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Men and Women” and the collection of proposals and recommendations. For example, in the Talas region, participants proposed tightening measures against perpetrators of domestic violence, attracting more men to work in schools and in the medical field, providing sustainable funding for the activities of public women’s councils in order to expand women’s rights, and working more closely locally with women’s councils and local governments, etc.

At regional meetings, Ms. Kamila Talieva spoke about her proposed amendments to the Law “On State Guarantees of Equal Rights and Opportunities for Men and Women.” She emphasized that achieving equality between women and men in Kyrgyzstan is one of the main development goals. “The principles of gender equality are clearly stated in the country’s Constitution, including those included in the country’s National Development Strategy until 2040. Moreover, the Decree of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic approved the State Program to Support Women’s Leadership until 2030,” she noted.

The deputy outlined the importance of the representation of women leaders in the executive branch, especially in high leadership positions, in order to achieve their goals. She gave an example that there is not a single woman in the post of regional heads in the country. In addition, Kamila Talieva, noting the significant role of women in social and state development, said that through her proposed bill a number of regulatory measures would be introduced to support women. “Today we need to focus on each article of the law and conduct an in-depth analysis. Along with this, it is necessary to fully analyze the provisions on political government positions, special government positions and political municipal positions,” said Kamila Talieva.

Consultation participants from the Issyk-Kul and Naryn regions noted that in Kyrgyzstan, due to the wage gap between men and women, more and more women are migrating. In this regard, they proposed to work to reduce this gap, they also proposed to move away from dividing professions into male and female, about harassment in the workplace, about the influence of religion on gender inequality, etc.

At consultations with representatives of Osh, Jalal-Abad, Batken regions, recommendations and proposals were made for opening crisis and training centers in the regions, for quotas for women in the civil service, as well as for correcting grammatical errors that are noted in the law.

At consultations in the city of Bishkek and the Chui region, participants made recommendations on issues of labor migration among women, on the correct formulation of terms about people with disabilities that are found in the Law, on providing support to mothers subject to discrimination, whose children are born with disabilities, on the creation of the institution of family, about preventing and tightening punishment in cases of violence against women and children, about the distribution of representatives of different genders in different areas of employment.

All meeting participants recognized the need to improve and amend the Law. Within the framework of the interdepartmental working group, a draft law “On Amendments to the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On State Guarantees of Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Men and Women” will be developed, taking into account the comments received, and national consultations will be organized in the fall.

Consultations are conducted by the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Migration of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Council on the Rights of Women, Children and Gender Equality under the Toraga of the Jogorku Kenesh with technical support from the OSCE Program Office in Bishkek, the project “InKoom – promoting the development of a fair and inclusive society in Kyrgyzstan” with the financial support of the European Union.