In this week’s edition: Russia starts shipping gas to Uzbekistan; Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan send aid for Afghan earthquake victims; corruption in Tajikistan; and more.
A woman outside Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, was savagely attacked by her ex-husband in late September, and will be permanently disfigured as a result. Since the attack, many troubling facts have emerged about lenient treatment by Kyrgyz courts of men who commit violent acts against women, and police who don’t seem interested in acting on complaints of domestic violence. How is the legal system failing women and girls in Kyrgyzstan, and why does the situation seem so resistant to change? Joining host Bruce Pannier to look at this problem are guests Aksana Ismailbekova, a research fellow at Leibniz-Zentrum-Moderner Orient; Adina Masalbekova, a nonresident EUCAM research fellow at the Centre for European Security Studies; and Leila Seiitbek, chairwoman of the NGO Freedom for Eurasia and a member of the working group advocating for a global Every Woman treaty to end all forms of violence against women and girls.
China will for the first time host an in-person summit of central Asian leaders this week, seeking to cement ties in a region seen as Russia's backyard as its relations with the West sour. President Xi Jinping is expected to discuss deepening economic and security links with counterparts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, former soviet states