Women’s participation is key to improving human rights for women in Kyrgyzstan, including eliminating sexual and gender-based violence, increasing levels of maternal health, and ending early and forced marriages.

Women in Kyrgyzstan continue to face discriminatory traditions and high levels of gender-based violence and human trafficking, resulting in low political participation rates. Although granted by Kyrgyzstan’s accession to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the implementation of its National Action Plan launched in accordance with Resolution 1325, women’s rights and freedoms erode through religious conservatism, both Islamic and Christian. Despite recent laws increasing the penalty for the widely-practiced sex crime, the practice of “bride kidnapping” remains especially prevalent.

Based on the work of NGOWG members and their partners, the NGOWG advocates for increased services for Kyrgyzstan survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, provided by the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA)— a political mission based in Turkmenistan.