Women’s Political Empowerment in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan

Abstract

This chapter examines the factors that contributed to women’s political mobilization in Kazakhstan in recent years and assesses the implications of this trend for the country’s political and social institutions. Using the framework of social grievances and political opportunities, the chapter argues that changing socioeconomic conditions, coupled with the growing frustration among women over their inability to influence the policy-making process due to the closed structure of Kazakhstan’s political institutions, as well as the renewed interest in the feminist ideas among the younger generation of Kazakhstani women and the rise of social media are the factors that best explain the recent wave of women’s activism in Kazakhstan. The implications of women’s collective action for the country’s social and political institutions are significant. If sustained, it has the potential to reshape the state of gender relations in modern Kazakhstan and liberalize the country’s political institutions. The study is based on extensive research conducted by the author in Kazakhstan between 2014 and 2019, including interviews with female activists, as well as a comprehensive review of primary and secondary literature on the topic.