DOCSLIB.ORG

Gender Assessment for CTF Projects in Kazakhstan

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Gender Assessment for CTF Projects in Kazakhstan Gender Assessment of District Heating Projects in Kazakhstan financed by the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) Final Report October 2014 Gender Assessment of District Heating Projects in Kazakhstan financed by the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) This report has been prepared by Heidi Hjorth and Helle T. Stoltz (Grontmij, DK), with the overall support and revision of EBRD’s Gender Team led by Elena Ferreras Carreras, Senior Gender Adviser and Ozge Aydogan, Social and Gender Specialist. Itziar Perkins, Senior Advisor and Elena Ruiz, Principal Gender Advisor provided useful inputs to this report. This report was prepared by Grontmij (DK) for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), supported by funding from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF). The contents of this publication reflect the opinions of individual authors (Grontmij) and do not necessarily reflect the views of of the EBRD and the CTF. ii Gender Assessment of District Heating Projects in Kazakhstan financed by the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................... 1 2 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 5 2.1 BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................................................... 5 2.2 PURPOSE AND SCOPE ........................................................................................................................................... 6 3 CONTEXT OF STUDY ......................................................................................................................................... 6 3.1 EBRD’S AND CTF’S GENDER POLICIES ..................................................................................................................... 6 3.2 DISTRICT HEATING AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES (CIS) ................................... 7 3.3 INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE ON DISTRICT HEATING (DH) AND GENDER ........................................................................ 8 4 CASE STUDY 1: KYZYLORDA DISTRICT HEATING ............................................................................................. 10 4.1 SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT ................................................................................................................................ 10 4.2 DISTRICT HEATING IN KYZYLORDA CITY .................................................................................................................. 10 4.3 GENDER DIFFERENCES IN HEAT USE, RESPONSIBILITIES AND PRIORITIES ....................................................................... 11 4.4 ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT WITHIN DISTRICT HEATING ............................................................................................... 12 4.5 CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT RELATED TO DISTRICT HEATING ........................................................................................ 13 5 CASE STUDY 2: AKTAU DISTRICT HEATING ..................................................................................................... 15 5.1 SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT ................................................................................................................................ 15 5.2 DISTRICT HEATING IN AKTAU CITY......................................................................................................................... 15 5.3 GENDER DIFFERENCES IN HEAT USE, RESPONSIBILITIES AND PRIORITIES ....................................................................... 16 5.4 ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT WITHIN DISTRICT HEATING ............................................................................................... 17 5.5 CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT RELATED TO DISTRICT HEATING ........................................................................................ 18 6 CASE STUDY 3: SEMEI DISTRICT HEATING ...................................................................................................... 20 6.1 SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT ................................................................................................................................ 20 6.2 DISTRICT HEATING IN SEMEI CITY ......................................................................................................................... 20 6.3 GENDER DIFFERENCES IN HEAT USE, RESPONSIBILITIES AND PRIORITIES ....................................................................... 21 6.4 ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT WITHIN DISTRICT HEATING ............................................................................................... 22 6.5 CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT RELATED TO DISTRICT HEATING ........................................................................................ 23 7 EXPERIENCES AND LESSONS LEARNED FROM CASE STUDIES .......................................................................... 24 7.1 GENDER DIFFERENCES IN HEAT USE, RESPONSIBILITIES AND PRIORITIES ....................................................................... 24 7.2 ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT WITHIN DISTRICT HEATING ............................................................................................... 25 7.3 CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT RELATED TO DISTRICT HEATING ........................................................................................ 26 7.4 GENDER ANALYSIS IN FEASIBILITY STUDIES .............................................................................................................. 27 8 RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................................................... 28 ANNEX 1: TERMS OF REFERENCE ..................................................................................................................................... 31 ANNEX 2: KEY DOCUMENTS CONSULTED ........................................................................................................................... 36 ANNEX 3: MAP OF STUDY AREA ....................................................................................................................................... 38 ANNEX 4: KAZAKHSTAN NATIONAL CONTEXT ..................................................................................................................... 39 ANNEX 5: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................. 46 ANNEX 6: KEY STAKEHOLDERS MET .................................................................................................................................. 50 ANNEX 7: INTERVIEW GUIDE .......................................................................................................................................... 53 ANNEX 8: GLOSSARY .................................................................................................................................................... 64 iii Gender Assessment of District Heating Projects in Kazakhstan financed by the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) LIST OF ACRONYMES ADB Asian Development Bank CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CIF Climate Investment Fund CIS Commonwealth of Independent States CPS Country Partnership Strategy CSO Civil Society Organisation CTF Clean Technology Fund DH District Heating EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ESP Environmental and Social Policy EU European Union FGD Focus Group Discussions FHH Female Headed Households GEF Global Environment Facility GEI Gender Equality Index GDP Gross Domestic Product GGGI Global Gender Gap Index GHG Green House Gas GII Gender Inequality Index GNI Gross National Income IFC International Finance Cooperation IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature KTZ Kazakhstani Tenge (currency) MAEK Company responsible for production of heat in Aktau City MDB Multinational Development Banks MDGs Millennium Development Goals MDH Multi Dwelling House MEI Municipal and Environmental Infrastructure MSMEs Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises NDI The National Democratic Institute NGO Non Governmental Organisation OCE Office of the Chief Economist OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe PPP Purchasing Power Parity SEMED Southern and Eastern Mediterranean SGI Strategic Gender Initiative SIDA Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency SMEs Small and Medium-sized Enterprises ToR Terms of Reference TVS&V State Communal Enterprise “Heating, Water Networks and Wastewater” in Aktau City UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEP United Nations Environment Programme USAID United States Agency for International Development WB World Bank WEDO Women’s Environment and Development Organization iv Gender Assessment of District Heating Projects in Kazakhstan financed by the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Objectives and scope of the assessment The gender dimensions of access to services and benefits, as well as exposure to risks, are increasingly recognised as important across sectors, including within the energy sector and related to climate change. The main objective of this study is to conduct three project-level gender assessments in Kazakhstan identifying potential gender aspects and priorities in connection
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Kyzylorda Oblast, Kazakhstan Challenges
    for Kyzylorda Oblast Youth Health Center Oblast Youth for Kyzylorda © Umirbai Tumenbayev, official photographer © Umirbai Tumenbayev, The Kyzylorda Oblast Medical Center, Kyzylorda Oblast, Kazakhstan Kyzylorda City General overview Kyzylorda Oblast (region) is situated along the summer, precipitation generally evaporates, and Syrdariya River in the south-western part of the it is only in winter that the soil receives moisture. Republic of Kazakhstan in central Eurasia. The There are many days with strong wind, and dust region covers an area of 226 000 km2 with a storms can occur in summer. The remaining part distance of 1000 km between its northernmost of the shrinking Aral Sea – the Small Aral Sea – is and southernmost borders (1). Comprising seven located in the southern part of the region. The districts and the capital city – also called Kyzylorda Aral Sea has been described as “one of the worst – the region is more than 190 years old, one of environmental disasters of the world”(2). The the oldest in the country. It borders on Aktobe salinity of the remaining water exceeds 100 g/l. Oblast in the north-west, Karaganda Oblast in In 2008, a project to construct a seawall made the north, South Kazakhstani Oblast in the south- it possible to increase the water level slowly in east, and the Republic of Uzbekistan in the south. the northern part of the Aral. Currently, the level It has a wide range of mineral resources, the of salinity is decreasing, which has resulted in most important being hydrocarbons, non-ferrous the appearance of some species of fish.
    [Show full text]
  • Child Friendly Cities Research with Children in Kyzylorda
    Child Friendly Cities Research with children in Kyzylorda Final Kyzylorda Report 2015 Table of Contents Summary of Results __________________________________ 3 Background _________________________________________ 4 Children’s Research Results ___________________________ 9 Ecological domain – a clean and healthy child friendly city _____________ 9 Cultural domain - a learning and playful child friendly city _____________ 13 Economical domain - an equitable child friendly city __________________ 16 Political Domain - a secure and participatory child friendly city ________ 18 Conclusions ________________________________________ 24 Copyright 2015 Citation details: Malone, K. (2015) Child Friendly Cities: Researching with children in Kyzylorda, University of Western Sydney, Bankstown, NSW, Australia. If you would like any information about this report please contact the author: Professor Karen Malone Centre for Educational Research, University of Western Sydney Mobile 0407352864 [email protected] www.childfriendlycities.com www.childfiendlyasiapacific.net UNICEF Child Friendly Cities Initiative 2 Summary of Results Kyzylorda City Kyzylorda is in the western region of Kazakhstan with a cold desert climate of hot summers and cold winters. It has a population of around 188,000 people. In modern times it has been known for its oil and gas fields and production of rice, while historically it was one of the centers of the Silk Road. The city is on the Syr Darya River, which is one of the rivers that use to flow into the Aral Sea, before it was diverted to irrigate the desert, therefore contributing to the drying up over time of the Aral Sea. Some of the older children were also concerned the issues around the drying up of the Aral Sea.
    [Show full text]
  • Assessing Opportunities and Threats in Kazakhstan's Wild Liquorice Root Trade
    April 2021 SWEET DREAMS ASSESSING OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS IN KAZAKHSTAN’S WILD LIQUORICE ROOT TRADE Nadejda Gemedzhieva, Artyom Khrokov, Elise Heral, Anastasiya Timoshyna JOINT REPORT ABOUT US TRAFFIC is a leading non-governmental organisation working globally on trade in wild animals and plants in the context of both biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. Reproduction of material appearing in this report requires written permission from the publisher. The designations of geographical entities in this publication, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS whatsoever on the part of TRAFFIC or its supporting This report was completed under a project implemented between organisations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, 2019-2022 by TRAFFIC and the Association for the Conservation of or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK), under the support of the Keidanren boundaries. Nature Conservation Fund (KNCF). Complementary funds were also gratefully received from Aktionsgemeinschaft Artenschutz (AGA) e.V. Lead author The project aims to reduce unsustainable commercial harvest, which Nadejda Gemedzhieva poses a threat to biodiversity conservation, and to scale up successful sustainable wild liquorice root production from which local people and Published by: nature benefit. We extend our thanks to KNCF for their support. TRAFFIC International, Cambridge, United Kingdom. During the course of this study, many individuals contributed their time, SUGGESTED CITATION expertise, original research and professional advice and the authors Gemedzhieva, N., Khrokov, A., Heral. E., Timoshyna, would like to thank the staff of the following institutions: Forestry A.
    [Show full text]
  • Session 1. Panelist 1 Construction and Operation of Regional Multi
    Construction and operation of Regional Multi-profile Hospital for 300 beds in Kyzylorda city PPP DEVELOPMENT CENTER Main information and description of the Project Construction and operation of Regional Multi-profile Hospital Project description and objectives Information Description Industry: The project envisages the construction and operation of a multi-profile clinical Healthcare hospital providing a full cycle of medical care, as well as providing retraining of doctors on the basis of modern achievements of medical science. Project objectives: • Creation of multi-profile The new multi-profile hospital will consist of a hospital with 300 beds. The hospital: construction of this project is justified by the current demand for inpatient – quality and availability of medical services and high morbidity in the Kyzylorda region. medical care on the basis The following activities will be carried out in the hospital: of modern advanced Medical service, including: technologies. • State guaranteed benefits package • Creation of a base for • Medical services within the Mandatory Social Health Insurance improving the availability • Paid medical services. of medical care, including Non-medical service, including: highly specialized • Lease of premises • Catering services medical care for residents • Services for other organisations of Kazakhstan The contract period is 20 years, including 3 years of construction. PPP DEVELOPMENT CENTER Construction and operation of Regional Multi-profile Hospital STRUCTURE OF MULTIPROFILE Kyzylorda city HOSPITAL
    [Show full text]
  • Economic and Social Council
    UNITED NATIONS E Economic and Social Distr. GENERAL Council TRANS/SC.1/AC.5/2002/1 28 March 2002 Original: ENGLISH ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE INLAND TRANSPORT COMMITTEE Working Party on Road Transport Ad hoc Meeting on the Implementation of the AGR (Eighteenth session, 10-11 June 2002 agenda item 4) CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSALS FOR AMENDMENTS TO ANNEX 1 OF THE AGR Transmitted by Kazakhstan The Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Kazakhstan, having reviewed the text of the European Agreement on Main International Traffic Arteries (AGR) in the light of amendments 1-8 to the original text, and also the updated version of the map of the international E road network, wishes to make the following observations. Kazakhstan’s Blueprint for road traffic development outlines six main transit corridors: 1. Tashkent - Shymkent - Taraz - Bishkek - Almaty - Khorgos; 2. Shymkent - Kyzylorda - Aktyubinsk - Uralsk - Samara; 3. Almaty - Karagandy - Astana - Petropavlovsk; 4. Astrakhan - Atyrau - Aktau - Turkmen frontier; 5. Omsk - Pavlodar - Semipalatinsk - Maikapshagai; 6. Astana - Kostanay - Chelyabinsk. GE.02- TRANS/SC.1/AC.5/2002/1 page 2 Accordingly, the following amendments and additions are proposed to annex I to the AGR and the draft map of the international road network: 1. E 40. After Kharkov extend as follows: … Lugansk - Volgograd - Astrakhan - Atyrau - Beineu - Kungrad - Nukus - Bukhara - Nawoy - Samarkand - Dzhizak - Tashkent - Shymkent - Taraz - Bishkek - Almaty - Sary-Ozek - Taldykorgan - Usharal - Taskesken - Ayaguz - Georgievka - Ust-Kamenogorsk - Leninogorsk - Ust-Kan. The Leninogorsk - Ust-Kan section should be indicated on the map. 2. E 38 should be extended to Shymkent. The Kyzylorda - Shymkent section should be assigned a dual number (E 123/E 38).
    [Show full text]
  • Status of Oralmans in Kazakhstan
    Каzakhstan STATUS OF ORALMANS IN KAZAKHSTAN OVERVIEW Almaty, 2006 AbbREVIATIONS AMD Agency for Migration and Demography CST Center for Social Technology GDP Gross domestic product IHE Institute of Higher Education IOM International Organization for Migration ILO International Labour Organization KRCS Kazakhstan Red Crescent Society KZT Kazakhstan tenge MCR monthly calculation rate NGO Non-governmental organization UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme RoK Republic of Kazakhstan USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics CIS Commonwealth of Independent States CST Center for Social Technologies SSEE Specialized secondary educational establishment USA United States of America Contents FOREWORd by THE INTERNATIONAL ORgANIZATION FOR MIgRATION .................................................................................................................4 FOREWORd by THE UNITEd NATIONS dEVELOPMENT PROgRAMME .......................5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARy .........................................................................................................6 INTROdUCTION ..................................................................................................................7 CHAPTER I. THE dEVELOPMENT OF ETHNIC IMMIgRATION POLICIES ..........................................7 CHAPTER II. gENERAL CHARACTERISTICS ..........................................................................................13 CHAPTER III. ECONOMIC ANd SOCIAL INTEgRATION OF ORALMANS ...........................................15 CHAPTER IV.
    [Show full text]
  • Initial Environmental Examination (Draft) Kazakhstan: Urban
    Initial Environmental Examination (Draft) Project Number: 51365-001 June 2020 Kazakhstan: Urban Infrastructure Modernization Program – Wastewater Treatment Project Construction of Wastewater Treatment Plant in Zhezkazgan City Prepared by The Kazakhstan Center for Communal Services Modernization and Reform (KazCenter ZhKH) for the Asian Development Bank. This initial environmental examination is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. Your attention is directed to the “terms of use” section on ADB’s website. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. WASTEWATER MODERNISATION PROGRAM OF GOVERNMENT OF KAZAKHSTAN KAZ: “CONSTRUCTION OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT IN ZHEZKAZGAN CITY” INITIAL ENVIRONMENTAL EXAMINATION (IEE) (DRAFT) June 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................1 A. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................9 A.1 General ................................................................................................................................9
    [Show full text]
  • Assessment of Competitiveness of Regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zhanna Tsaurkubule, Zhaxat Kenzhin, Dana Bekniyazova, Gulmira Bayandina, Gulsara Dyussembekova
    Assessment of competitiveness of regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zhanna Tsaurkubule, Zhaxat Kenzhin, Dana Bekniyazova, Gulmira Bayandina, Gulsara Dyussembekova To cite this version: Zhanna Tsaurkubule, Zhaxat Kenzhin, Dana Bekniyazova, Gulmira Bayandina, Gulsara Dyussem- bekova. Assessment of competitiveness of regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Insights into Regional Development, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, 2020, 2 (1), pp.469-479. 10.9770/IRD.2020.2.1(6). hal-02569361 HAL Id: hal-02569361 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02569361 Submitted on 11 May 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. INSIGHTS INTO REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT ISSN 2669-0195 (online) http://jssidoi.org/IRD/ 2020 Volume 2 Number 1 (March) http://doi.org/10.9770/IRD.2020.2.1(6) Publisher http://jssidoi.org/esc/home ASSESSMENT OF COMPETITIVENESS OF REGIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN* Zhanna Tsaurkubule 1, Zhaxat Kenzhin 2, Dana Bekniyazova 3, Gulmira Bayandina 4, Gulsara Dyussembekova 5 1,2Baltic International Academy, Lomonosov Street 4, Riga, Latvia 3Innovative University of Eurasia, Lomovstreet, 45, Pavlodar, Kazakhstan 4, 5S. Toraighyrov Pavlodar State University, Lomov Street, 64, Pavlodar, Kazakhstan E-mails: 1 [email protected] , 2 [email protected] , 3 [email protected] , 4 [email protected] , 5 [email protected] Received 15 September 2019; accepted 8 December 2019; published 30 March 2020 Abstract.
    [Show full text]
  • IRI Releases Survey of Southern Kazakhstan Public Opinion
    Survey of Southern Kazakhstan Population April 13-22, 2009 International Republican Institute Baltic Surveys Ltd. / The Gallup Organization with funding from the National Endowment for Democracy 1 IRI, Baltic Surveys / The Gallup Organization SURVEY OF SOUTHERN KAZAKHSTAN POPULATION, April 2009 METHODOLOGY The survey of southern Kazakhstan (Kyzylorda, Zhambyl and South Kazakhstan oblasts and Almaty city) was carried out from April 13-22, 2009. The eligibility criteria was based on age (18 years and older). Eight-hundred and twenty-seven Kazakh participants were interviewed face-to-face in their homes. The sample design was a multi-stage probability sample. – Stage one: the sample was stratified into four regions- three oblasts and Almaty city. – Stage two: the sample was further stratified into rural, urban and metropolitan sampling units. – Stage three: Primary Sampling Units (PSU) were described. The last birthday rule was used for the selection of the respondent. The households were selected using random route method. The sample was distributed at the regional level, in rural and urban areas, in all regions of southern Kazakhstan. The response rate was 65 percent. The margin of error for the survey results does not exceed plus or minus 3.4 percent with a confidence level of 95 percent. Fifty-nine interviewers worked on the study, on average completing 10-12 interviews in one PSU. The interviews were done in Russian, Kazakh and Uzbek languages. 2 IRI, Baltic Surveys / The Gallup Organization SURVEY OF SOUTHERN KAZAKHSTAN POPULATION,
    [Show full text]
  • Kazakhstan Systematic Country Diagnostic
    Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Report No. 125611-KZ A new growth model for building a secure middle class Kazakhstan Systematic Country Diagnostic April 2018 Contents Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... viii Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................... x 1. Setting the stage: Poverty, shared prosperity, and jobs in a changing economic context .................. 1 1.1 Trends in poverty reduction and shared prosperity ........................................................................... 4 1.2 Jobs, earnings, and productivity ........................................................................................................ 13 1.3 Looking ahead—four mutually reinforcing strategic pillars for building a secure middle class ....... 18 2. Strategic Pillar 1: Economic management for diversification ......................................................... 21 2.1 Understanding the components of economic growth in Kazakhstan ............................................... 21 2.2 Fiscal and monetary policy during commodity cycles ....................................................................... 26 2.3 Governance and public sector effectiveness ...................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Assessing the Competitiveness of Kazakhstan Regions: Creating an Index
    E3S Web of Conferences 159, 05002 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202015905002 BTSES-2020 Assessing the competitiveness of Kazakhstan regions: creating an index Aknur Zhidebekkyzy1,*, Rimma Sagiyeva1, Zhansaya Temerbulatova1 1Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, al-Farabi Ave. 71, 050040 Almaty, Kazakhstan Abstract. Today there is no single universally accepted method for assessing the competitiveness of the country's regions. For this reason, the research created a methodology for assessing competitiveness at the regional level for Kazakhstan. The three-factor model of Huggins for ranking the regions of Great Britain by the level of competitiveness was used as the basis, and then the model was expanded on the example of a study assessing the competitiveness of the regions of the European Union countries. All data for assessing the competitiveness of the regions of Kazakhstan were collected from the official website of the Committee on Statistics of the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In the article, 14 regions and 2 cities of republican significance were ranked in terms of competitiveness. As a result, the most competitive regions of Kazakhstan were Almaty city, Atyrau region and Nur-Sultan city, the worst indicator was found for the North Kazakhstan and Zhambyl regions. 1 Introduction Today, one of the highest priorities facing each state is increasing national competitiveness. National competitiveness reflects the country's ability to achieve high rates of economic growth and maintain it in the long run, control the efficient use of resources and compete in the international arena. For increasing the level of national competitiveness, it is important to understand its formation structure.
    [Show full text]
  • Online Temptations: Divorce and Extramarital Affairs in Kazakhstan
    religions Article Online Temptations: Divorce and Extramarital Affairs in Kazakhstan Jasmin Dall’Agnola 1 and Hélène Thibault 2,* 1 Department of Social Science, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK; [email protected] 2 Department of Political Science and International Relations, School of Sciences and Humanities, Nazarbayev University, Nur-Sultan 01000, Kazakhstan * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: In recent years, the institution of marriage in Muslim Central Asia has undergone profound transformations in terms of religious dynamics, migration patterns, and the impact of globalization. In Kazakhstan between 2014 and 2019, every third marriage ended in divorce. By examining how Muslim Kazakhs’ support for divorce and casual sex is related to their consumption of information obtained on the Internet, mobile phone, and social media, this study contributes to the growing body of literature on the transformative forces of information and communication technology (ICT) in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. It uses a mixed-method approach that contrasts wider statistical trends from the World Values Survey Wave 7 country dataset on Kazakhstan with empirical data from focus groups conducted in five different regions of the country in 2019, involving a total of 96 respondents. The findings from the statistical and non-statistical analysis show that frequent exposure to information online influences Muslim Kazakhs’ support for extramarital affairs and divorce. Yet, frequent use of ICTs does not necessarily weaken the institution of marriage. Apart from its effect on university-educated female Kazakh youth, it seems to reinforce traditional understanding of marriage obligations among older generations and young men. Citation: Dall’Agnola, Jasmin, and Hélène Thibault.
    [Show full text]