Childhood in – Report on the Current Situation

Preliminary Note This report was composed in the context of the study project “Growing up in Kyrgyzstan and Germany: Structures and Conditions”, a development cooperation of the Bergische Universität Wuppertal and three Universities, which has been supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) since 2009 1. In order to gain knowledge about childhood in Kyrgyzstan, it is important to highlight different main problems or policies respectively, which are related to child well-being in one way or another. As shown in the following, “structures and conditions of growing up” is a broad field, which ranges from medical topics and the social implications of the educational system to the traditional structure of Kyrgyz families and urgent political problems like child labour. This text is meant to give an overview on the situation in Kyrgyzstan and therefore is not able to give a deep insight in the particular fields. One difficulty in the process of finding meaningful data that should be mentioned is the nearly unmanageable amount of sources, particularly on the internet. The subsequent second problem however, is even more decisive. To differentiate between ‘official’ and ‘unofficial’, reliable and unreliable data, often means not only to choose between different types of survey methods but to consider different perspectives on the same issue. What does this mean? Kyrgyzstan is still in the process of a long-winded transformation, which was inevitable after the delusion of the and its subsequent gaining of political, economic and cultural independence in 1991. It should be pointed out though that the country is anything but totally independent nowadays. Due to persistent economic problems and structural deficits, the young democracy is still in need of international sponsorship and therefore highly dependent on external institutions and expertise. International organisations like the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) or the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provide the necessary funds and programmes. In return, beneficiary countries like Kyrgyzstan pledge themselves to improve politics in order to achieve a defined set of goals, which are institutionalised e.g. in the Millennium Development Goals. This ‘contract’ bears two oppositional ambitions: While the poor countries will always be anxious to represent themselves in the best possible light, the perspective of the ‘sponsors’ will be rather critical. This leads back to the initial question of why there are often different readings on the same issue. The researcher always should keep these divergent perspectives in mind.

1. National Profile Kyrgyzstan is located in the middle of Central Asia, bordering China (to the east), Kazakhstan (to the north), Tajikistan (to the south) and Uzbekistan (to the west). The smallest of the Central Asian countries extends 900 kilometres from west to east and 415 kilometres from north to south. The whole area covers 198.5 thousand square kilometres. Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country – about 80% of the area is covered by mountains and 90% of the territory is higher than 1500m above sea level. The most famous mountain range is the Tien-

1 At this point the author wants to express his heartfelt gratitude to Altynai Abdykadyrova, Albina Mailybaeva, Regina Molchanova and – especially – Talant Erkinbekov for the gathering of information from Russian- and Kyrgyz-speaking sources. The report was compiled on the basis of a similar article on childhood in Germany, cf. Bühler-Niederberger, Doris / König, Alexandra (2008): Children in Germany. In: Epstein, Irving / Limage, Leslie J. (Hg.): The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Children's Issues Worldwide (Europe). Westport/London. 1 Shan (“Tenir-Too” in Kyrgyz) running from northeast to southwest. The climate is continental, with average temperatures from -30 ° C in the winter to 27° C in the summer . There are many lakes, among them the largest and most popular one – the Issyk-Kul, with a size of 6236 square kilometres 2. The territory of Kyrgyzstan is divided into seven regions (“oblasts”): Talas, Chui, Issyk-Kul, , Jalal-Abad, and . In addition, Bishkek and the second largest city Osh are administratively independent cities. Each oblast is divided into districts. The republic consists of 22 cities and 40 administrative districts. The capital of the republic is Bishkek 3. The first Kyrgyz state, the Kyrgyz Khanate, existed from the sixth to the thirteenth century. Its territory extended from contemporary southern and central Siberia to the east of Kazakhstan and eastern Kyrgyzstan. At that time, the Kyrgyz people had trade relations with China, Tibet and Persia. The territory began to diminish in the eleventh and twelfth centuries due to the expansion of the Mongol Empire headed by Genghis Khan. The region of present Kyrgyzstan was taken by the Mongols in 1219 and remained under repressive rule until 1510. Afterwards the Kyrgyz were ruled by the Kalmyks (17th century) and the Manchus (18 th century). In the early 19th century parts of Kyrgyzstan belonged to the Uzbek Khanate (also: Kokand Khanate), which was conquered by the Russian Empire in 1876 – in this course Kyrgyzstan became part of the Empire too. After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic became part of the Soviet Union – in the beginning as Kara- Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast (1924), then as the Kyrgyz Autonomous Republic (1926) and finally, as the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic (1936) 4. Becoming an independent and democratic state, Kyrgyzstan has undergone significant economical and political changes. Prior to 1991, the state was dependent on the economy of the Soviet Union. Hence, the new government had to face substantial restructuring and accomplish essential market reforms, which were redeemed temporarily due to a greater planning role of the state in the late 1990s 5. Kyrgyzstan nowadays is a poor country with a predominantly agricultural structure. Cotton, tobacco, wool and gold make up the main export products. The gross domestic product (GDP) grew more than 6% annually in 2007 and 2008, but due to the worldwide financial crisis, it sank to -1% (estimated) in 2009 6. GDP per capita expressed in US dollars has increased from $1000 in 1995 (all time low) to $2.100 in 2009, which means 184 th place in comparison to the world (a total of 228 countries) 7. The Gini coefficient 8, which is used for measuring the inequality of income, was 0,380 in 2007. This figure decreased steadily within the last ten years (1997: 0,470) 9. Despite this positive trend, corruption remains one of the biggest problems in Kyrgyzstan. According to the Corruption Perception Index, the country is among the 15 states with the highest corruption and the lowest confidence range 10 . The population is 5.482.000 according to estimation by the United Nations in 2009 11 . The average age in Kyrgyzstan is very low, which means that there is a significant share of people of working age and children. The proportion of people under 17 years is 37,1% (i.e.

2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Kyrgyzstan, 25.01.10. 3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_Kyrgyzstan, 25.01.10. 4 Library of Congress / Federal Research Division (2007): Country Profile: Kyrgyzstan, January 2007, p. 2. (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Kyrgyzstan.pdf) 5 Ibid. p. 6. 6 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kg.html, 14.01.10. 7 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/) and https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kg.html, 14.01.10. 8 “A low Gini coefficient indicates a more equal distribution, with 0 corresponding to complete equality, while higher Gini coefficients indicate more unequal distribution, with 1 corresponding to complete inequality”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_index, 02.02.10. 9 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/). 10 http://www.transparency.org/news_room/in_focus/2008/cpi2008/cpi_2008_table, 02.02.10. 11 http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2008/wpp2008_text_tables.pdf, 05.12.09. 2 more than one-third) of the total population; over 10% are not older than 4 years. In contrast, only 6,7% of total are more than 60 years old. 56,3% of the Kyrgyz people are workforce (18- 59 years) 12 . The age structure of the Kyrgyz population is characterized by regional differences. The proportion of children and young people is greatest in the southern regions (from 38,8% in the up to 40,3% in Osh). The population of the North is older; there is a high percentage of persons of working age (from 52,3% in the up to 67,1% in Bishkek) 13 . Nearly two-thirds of the republic's population live in rural areas (64%), slightly over one third (36%) are townspeople 14 . Provinces with a high number of urban population are Chui (including the capital Bishkek), Osh, Jalal-Abad and Issyk-Kul 15 . According to a census of 1999, the three biggest ethnic groups in Kyrgyzstan were Kyrgyz (64,9%), Uzbek (13,8%) and Russian (12,5%)16 . Estimates of 2007 indicate a portion of 68,9% Kyrgyz, 14,4% Uzbek and 9,1% Russian 17 . According to the Library of Congress, about 15.000 Russians left the country annually in the early 2000s. Ethnic composition in Kyrgyzstan is heterogeneous by regions, too. The main part of the Russian-speaking population is concentrated in Bishkek and Chui oblast. Uzbeks, traditionally engaged in agriculture, are predominantly in the southern regions and the city of Osh 18 . Along with Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic is the only Central Asian country, which has kept the Russian language as official language. After gaining independence in 1991, the government decided to add Kyrgyz as a second official language, hence Kyrgyzstan is a bilingual country nowadays. Language policy was encouraged in order to reduce the emigration of Russian- speaking population 19 . The post-soviet period is characterized by a significant increase in migration, which can be located both within the republic and abroad. The migration outflow was particularly high during the 1990s. From 1992 to 2003, there was an overall outflow of 395.1 thousand people in Kyrgyzstan. The peak outflow of the population occurred in 1993, when 143.5 thousand people emigrated 20 . The largest number of Kyrgyz migrants is leaving for Russia. Other popular areas in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) are Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Among other (non CIS-) countries the main recipients of Kyrgyz emigrants are Germany, followed by USA, Israel, Canada and Turkey (0.8%) 21 .

Number of immigrants (in 1,000s) 22 1990 1991 1992 1993 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 40,9 37,6 26,3 23,0 4,5 3,3 3,8 3,4 4,0

Number of emigrants (in 1,000s) 23 1990 1991 1992 1993 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 82,9 71,3 103,7 143,6 21,2 22,6 30,7 34,4 54,6

12 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/). 13 http://www.stat.kg/rus/census2009.htm, 14.12.09. 14 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kg.html, 14.12.09. 15 http://www.welcome.kg/ru/kyrgyzstan/population/pl/, 14.12.09.

16 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kg.html, 14.12.09. 17 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Kyrgyzstan, 17.01.10. 18 Library of Congress / Federal Research Division (2007): Country Profile: Kyrgyzstan, January 2007, p. 5. (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Kyrgyzstan.pdf) 19 http://www.welcome.kg/ru/kyrgyzstan/culture/, 14.12.09. 20 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/). 21 http://www.stat.kg/rus/census2009.htm, 14.12.09. 22 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/). 23 Ibid. 3 Net external migration rate (net migration per 100,000 mid-year population) 24 1990 1991 1992 1993 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 -954,5 -756,3 -1.715,3 -2.670,1 -333,8 -381,5 -527,4 -600,3 -972,7

Besides emigration and immigration one can look at internal migration, which can be differentiated in intra- and interregional migration. While intraregional migration means fluctuation within one region (or oblast, respectively), the latter can be described as migration between different regions. In Kyrgyzstan, interregional flows (65,2%) are predominant over intraregional (34,8%); particularly there are migration flows from rural to urban areas. In 2004, according to the National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic, the highest level of interregional migration was found among residents of Naryn and Issyk-Kul. The ‘centres’ of internal migration are the capital Bishkek as the whole Chui region. In the last decade, their population was growing constantly by immigrants from other Kyrgyz areas, whereas other regions of the republic are characterized by migratory population decline 25 . The high proportion of working-age migrants and the migration flow from rural to urban regions are apparently an impact caused by the economic crisis – people in Kyrgyzstan are driven by the desire to find a job. Another feature of the demographic situation after the transformation process in the 1990s was a decrease in births and fertility, as shown in the tables below. This can be interpreted as a result of the instable socio-economic situation and the corresponding problem of social insecurity. However, in the 2000s one can notice an increase in the birth rate again as well as a slight increase in the fertility rate. Meanwhile, the mortality rate (i.e. crude death rate) remained on a constant level. Due to the decrease in birth and fertility rates within the 1990s and a simultaneous stagnancy of the death rate, there was a decline of the natural population growth.

Crude birth rate (live births per 1,000 population) 26 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 29,3 19,8 19,9 20,3 21,1 21,7 21,5 23,4 23,7

Total fertility rate (live births per woman aged 15-49) 27 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 3,6 2,4 2,4 2,5 2,5 2,6 2,5 2,7 2,8

Crude death rate (deaths per 1,000 mid-year population) 28 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 7,0 7,0 6,6 7,1 7,2 6,9 7,2 7,5 7,3

Rate of natural population increase (births minus deaths per 1,000 population, excludes changes due to migration) 29 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 22,4 12,8 13,3 13,2 13,9 14,8 14,2 14,7 12,8

24 Ibid. 25 http://www.stat.kg/rus/census2009.htm, 14.12.09. 26 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/). 27 Ibid. 28 Ibid. 29 Ibid. 4 2. Politics and Political Culture “Jogorku Kenesh”, the Kyrgyz Parliament, is elected via party lists for a five-year term. It exercises legislative power and fulfils control functions towards the government, which in turn bears executive and legislative power. Head of government is the president, who is elected for five years. The first president after the break-up of the Soviet Union was , from 1990 to 2005. Due to questionable referenda and suppression of opposition groups, Akayev had to face rising national and international protest during the 1990s. The parliamentary elections in 2000 were evaluated critically by the OSCE because of the government’s judicial proceedings against candidates and parties as well as a strong political influence towards the media coverage 30 . Nevertheless Akayev stayed in office. The following elections in February and March 2005 again did not meet international standards. This resulted in mass protests which started in Jalal-Abad and Osh shortly after the elections, then spread over the whole country within a few days – the birth of the so called “”. The political pressure towards Akayev was enforced by different opposition groups which were headed by former Prime Minister and former Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva 31 . After mass protests had arrived in Bishkek and violent confrontations took place in front of the government building, Akayev fled into exile. Subsequently Bakiyev was named as acting Prime Minister and formed a new government, while Akayev finally announced his resignation. New elections in July 2005 made Bakiyev the official President of the Kyrgyz Republic 32 . As a result of not keeping his promise to limit presidential power and give more authority to the parliament, history repeated soon, when the new president had to face protests in 2006. Despite persistent accusations towards Bakiyev and continuing demands of the opposition for resignation, the president remained in office. In 2009 the OSCE stated irregularities in the rescheduled elections and identified an unfair advantage caused by media bias 33 . The main opposing candidate had withdrawn on the polling day claiming election fraud and Bakiyev won 34 . In 2010 Kyrgyzstan has been thrown into the biggest political crisis for a long time. Due to the people’s discontent with the government, in April 2010 violent riots erupted in Talas and Bishkek, in which many of the protesters were injured and some even died in fights with the police. As a consequence Bakiyev fled to his hometown Jalal-Abad but refused to resign. Only when the interim government, led by Roza Otunbayeva, increased the pressure by removing his immunity and issuing an arrest warrant, he submitted the resignation and left the country 35 . Shortly after that, Bakiyev announced from exile, that he revoked his departure and that he would try to get back in charge 36 . Only two months later, the political situation in Kyrgyzstan got even more instable, as inter-ethnic conflicts between Kyrgyz and Uzbek broke out in Osh and Jalal-Abad. The riots in June 2010 caused many victims, the greater part on the side of the Uzbek minority. Reasons for the conflict in Southern Kyrgyzstan and possible instigators cannot be named easily. One way of interpreting could be to look at the historical and socio-cultural emergence of the region: the two ethnic groups lived together in Fergana Valley, which is located between eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. There has been a multi-ethnic composition in this region ever since, so the people originally saw themselves as

30 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Kyrgyzstan, 16.08.10. 31 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_Revolution, 16.08.10. 32 Library of Congress / Federal Research Division (2007): Country Profile: Kyrgyzstan, January 2007, p. 2. (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Kyrgyzstan.pdf) 33 http://www.osce.org/item/39014.html, 16.08.10. 34 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8164277.stm, 16.08.10. 35 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Kyrgyzstani_uprising 17.08.10. 36 http://centralasiaonline.com/cocoon/caii/xhtml/en_GB/features/caii/features/main/2010/04/21/feature-02, 17.08.10. 5 ‘Central Asians’. Rather there were nomadic people, who would correspond to the Kyrgyz, and sedentary (Uzbek) people 37 . The new – and somehow arbitrary – borders that were drawn by the Soviet Government in the 1920s and 1930s actually had no great importance to the people living in Fergana Valley, but became as much more meaningful after gaining national independence in 1991. In this perspective, the June riots are an aftermath of the Soviet demarcation and the Soviet dissolution: the Central Asian countries suddenly began to rediscover their national consciousness – like the Kyrgyz citizens who began to recognize themselves as Kyrgyz people 38 . Another interpretation of the conflict stresses the class distinction between the traditional nomadic Kyrgyz and the often wealthy Uzbeks, many of them running own businesses in South Kyrgyzstan 39 . The (recovered) importance of nationality, or to say: ‘distinctiveness’ is one aspect to be considered when looking at the structures and conditions of growing up in Kyrgyzstan. The education of children aims both at democratic citizenship and ethnical belonging. Own ethnographic research currently undertaken gives evidence that ‘ethno-pedagogical’ programs are part of the curricula in schools and kindergartens 40 .

3. Current Social Politics and Childhood By signing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1994, the Kyrgyz Republic is committed to constitute the necessary structures. Since ratification of the Convention some initiatives have been started by the government. Children’s rights are guaranteed in a number of regulatory documents. The base of public policy for children is to ensure their surviving, growth and development within society. The main institutions concerned with rights of the child are Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Education and Culture. In 1997, Kyrgyzstan took over a national strategy for sustainable human development. As part of this strategy, a lot of programmes have been worked out: “Manas” (improvement of health care); “Araket” (programme to overcome poverty and provide education for poor families), “Jetkinchek” and “Bilim” (educational programmes which include measures to ensure school access for poor families, provide school supplies and restructure school facilities), “Emgek” (regarding labour market and employment), “Jashtyk” (regarding youth development) and “Ayalzat” (regarding support of women) 41 . In 1999 the Kyrgyz Republic created the Law on the Protection of Minors’ Rights, which is one of the most important legal frameworks. It reflects the basic conditions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The year 2000 was declared as the “Year of Youth” by former Kyrgyz president Akayev, who pled for new initiatives to youth policy. However, some NGOs criticise that this ambitious proposition has not been fulfilled yet. Though signing international agreements and participating in forums, “there has been no systematic or common approach” and, moreover, Kyrgyz politicians “did not pay the necessary attention to youth policy, and it remained a low priority on the list of other domestic policies”42 . In 2009 the parliament passed a new law “On youth state policy” with the special feature, that a working paper with recommendations made by young Kyrgyz people was taken

37 http://www.rferl.org/content/10_Things_You_Need_To_Know_About_The_Ethnic_Unrest_In_Kyrgyzstan/ 2071323.html, 17.08.10. 38 Ibid. 39 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/15/world/asia/15ethnic.html?_r=1, 26.08.10. 40 The project “Empowering little Children” in cooperation with UNICEF and Aga Khan Foundation focuses on the lifeworlds of little children, cf. http://www.bishkek.uni-wuppertal.de/wuppertal/Papers/. 41 Kyrgyzstan country report “Education System, Literacy and Life Long Learning”. (http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/template2/appeal/CLC/Reports_and_publications/Kyrgyzstan_country _report.engl.pdf). 42 http://www.infoyouth.org/article1573.html, 08.01.10. 6 into account 43 . According to the “Children’s Code” – which Kyrgyzstan developed in 2006 as the only country in Central Asia so far to secure the rights of children –, the “Child Protection Department” was created 44 . The main function of this department is to supervise the observation of the regulations and make a regular report to the government. The efforts to improve the situation of children are still in process; the difficulty is bringing it into line with international standards.

4. Infant, Child and Maternal Mortality One of the major demographic challenges in the country remains the high level of infant and child mortality, which are at the same time key indicators of the Millennium Development Goals 45 . Infant mortality rate expresses the number of children (per 1000 life births) dying within the first year, while child mortality (or: under-five mortality) rate denominates how many children (per 1000 life births) die within the first five years after birth. In 2007 it was 30,6 deaths per 1000 live births. The high increase between 2003 and 2004 is explained by the adoption of the more inclusive live birth criteria recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) 46 . The so called International Live Birth Definition differs from Soviet methods in some crucial aspects. In the Soviet perspective, newborn children without breathing are qualified as stillbirths, whereas the WHO-definition identifies also palpitation (i.e. heartbeat), traction (i.e. muscle movement) or pulsation of the umbilical cord as vital signs. Another disputable criterion counts for extremely premature infants (born before the 28 th week of pregnancy, with a body weight less than 1000g or height less than 35 cm): if the infant dies within the first seven days, it is classified as a miscarriage 47 . As shown in the tables below there are significant differences in the elevated numbers regarding infant mortality rate. The methodology used by the Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation and other organisations – like UNICEF, WHO, World Bank and UNDP – consults mortality data from different sources, including vital registration, surveys and censuses 48 . Compared to estimates exclusively based on vital registration data, which reports a mortality rate of 30,6 per 1.000 live births in 2007, the Inter-Agency Group states a value of 34 (cf. tables below). In contrast to that data, MICS reports an infant mortality rate of 38 per 1000 live births, valid for 2006 49 . The latest finding by the CIA World Factbook states that the infant mortality rate in 2009 was 31,26 per 1000 life births. Hence Kyrgyzstan has the 73 rd highest rate in comparison to all other countries of the world (a total of 224) 50 .

Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births; estimates based on vital registration data) 51 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 30,0 22,6 21,7 21,2 20,9 25,7 29,7 29,2 30,6

43 http://www.undp.kg/en/media-room/news/article/3-news-list/605-new-law-on-state-youth-policy-passed, 08.01.10. 44 http://www.un.org.kg/en/publications/document-database/article/86-document-database/3493-from-words-to- deeds-the-children-s-code-of-the-kyrgyz-republic-in-action, 08.01.10. 45 http://www.undp.org/mdg/goal4.shtml, 11.01.10 46 WHO Europe (2007): Country profiles: Kyrgyzstan. Key national indicators for assessing maternal and perinatal health status, Copenhagen, p. 1. 47 UNICEF / National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007): Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006, Kyrgyz Republic. Bishkek, p. 29. 48 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/). The methodological approach is explained on http://www.childinfo.org. 49 UNICEF / National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007): Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006, Kyrgyz Republic. Bishkek, p. 13. 50 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kg.html, 08.01.10. 51 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/). 7

Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births; estimates developed by the Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation) 52 1990 1995 2000 2005 2006 2007 62 52 43 36 35 34

Another crucial indicator for measuring children’s well-being or quality of life is the under- five mortality rate (U5MR). Similarly to measuring the infant mortality rate, there are discrepancies caused by different methods of collecting data. According to MICS, the under- 5-mortality rate was 44 per 1000 live births in 2006 53 . It ought to be considered that child mortality in rural areas is higher than in urban regions due to lower health and living standards (rural: 50 / urban: 35). Moreover there are biological induced differences between male (56) and female (31) 54 .

Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) 55 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 41,8 34,5 29,7 28,8 27,1 31,2 34,9 34,7 34,8

Under-5 mortality rate (per 1,000 live births; estimates developed by the Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation)56 1990 1995 2000 2005 2006 2007 75 62 51 43 41 39

Not a standard indicator but yet instructive data is the mortality rate for population aged one to four per 100.000 of the relevant population. The tables below further specify in different causes of death. One can comprehend, that mortality due to infectious diseases steadily decreased as well as mortality due to respiratory diseases and external factors. Compared to 1990, the figures halved (infectious diseases) or are one third (respiratory diseases) respectively, which could be evidence for an improved health system.

Mortality rate for population aged 1-4 (deaths per 100,000 relevant population) 57 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 297,0 265,0 194,1 197,5 173,7 159,6 146,7 163,0 130,6

Mortality rate due to infectious diseases for population aged 1-4 (deaths per 100,000 relevant population) 58 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 42,6 40,5 27,6 26,6 17,8 19,3 15,2 21,2 18,8

52 Ibid. 53 UNICEF / National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007): Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006, Kyrgyz Republic. Bishkek, p. 13. 54 Ibid. p. 30. 55 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/). 56 Ibid. 57 Ibid. 58 Ibid. 8

Mortality rate due to respiratory diseases for population aged 1-4 (deaths per 100,000 relevant population) 59 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 153,7 116,5 84,8 87,7 82,3 63,7 58,3 63,1 50,7

Mortality rate due to external causes 60 for population aged 1-4 (deaths per 100,000 relevant population) 61 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 64,2 63,9 44,6 46,4 40,1 41,8 38,5 43,1 31,2

Maternal mortality is defined “as a woman’s death caused by pregnancy complications (irrespective of its duration and site), which occurs during the pregnancy period or during the 42 days after its termination. Thus, the rate of maternal mortality is defined by the number of women who die due to complications during the pregnancy, delivery or postpartum period per 100,000 live births” 62 . While infant and child mortality are continuously decreasing over the last years, maternal mortality remains on the same level. Estimates are much higher though; MICS for instance estimates the rate to be 104 per 100.000 live births for 2006, which is a tremendous discrepancy to the TransMONEE data shown below 63 .

Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births) 64 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 62,9 45,5 43,8 53,5 49,3 50,9 60,1 55,5 51,9

5. Health Kyrgyzstan inherited the Soviet health care system, which provided free medical supply for every citizen. There were a sufficient number of hospitals and doctors, financed by the Soviet Ministry of Health 65 . After gaining independence in 1991, these conditions could logically not be sustained. Since then, the system suffers from shortages in medical personnel and medicine; almost all pharmaceuticals have to be imported 66 . The socio-economic crisis during the 1990s additionally deteriorated the conditions for health services. Due to the decrease of economic growth, public expenditures sank and remained on low levels in the last years (cf. table).

59 Ibid. 60 UNICEF defines external causes as “unintentional injuries (transport injuries, poisoning, injuries due to fall, fires and drowning and other) as well as intentional injuries (self-inflicted injuries, injuries due to violence and war and other)”, ibid. 61 Ibid. 62 UNICEF / National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007): Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006, Kyrgyz Republic. Bishkek, p. 30. 63 Ibid., p.13. 64 Ibid. 65 http://countrystudies.us/kyrgyzstan/16.htm, 13.01.10. 66 Library of Congress / Federal Research Division (2007): Country Profile: Kyrgyzstan, January 2007, p. 5. (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Kyrgyzstan.pdf) 9 General government expenditure on health (per cent of GDP) 67 1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 4,0 2,1 2,0 2,1 2,1 2,3 2,4 2,8 2,6

As described in the chapter above, reducing infant and child mortality are some of the main goals regarding health in Kyrgyzstan. But just as important is morbidity of older children – infectious, respiratory or diarrhoeal diseases are still widespread. In order to restructure the inherited Soviet system, a number of programmes have been implemented, jointly with WHO and UNICEF. One example for these activities is the implementation of the “Manas” National Health Reform Programme since 1993, which is supported by UNICEF, World Bank, USAID, DFID and other donors 68 . First steps were taken with the establishment of a mandatory medical insurance fund in 1997 and building local medicine training centres for retraining health workers 69 . Along with restructuring hospitals and strengthening primary health care, Manas focuses on establishing incentive-based payment systems, a health information system and better pharmaceutical management 70 . An important prerequisite for reducing child mortality and morbidity caused by preventable diseases is immunisation. Great progress has been made to implement the “Global Polio Eradication Initiative” 71 . With the help of several NGO’s under the Global Alliance of Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) 72 , the territory of Kyrgyzstan was certified as “polio- free” in 2000 73 . The immunisation rate increased steadily in the 1990s and remained on a relatively high level since then. However, in 2006 and 2007 one can see an abrupt decline of the rate, which objectively cannot be linked with the public expenditures.

Polio immunisation rate (per cent of children under 2 who have been immunized) 74 1991 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 80,9 98,7 98,8 98,6 98,1 98,4 98,5 92,8 94,0

As the following tables show, similar deductions can be drawn relating to the DPT and Hepatitis immunisation rate, whereas the figures on measles and tuberculosis remain on a relatively constant level.

DPT immunisation rate (per cent of children under 2 immunized against diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus, gross rates) 75 1991 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 78,1 98,7 98,9 98,4 98,2 99,3 98,3 92,6 94,1

67 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/). 68 http://www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan/health.html, 14.01.10. 69 Library of Congress / Federal Research Division (2007): Country Profile: Kyrgyzstan, January 2007, p. 5. (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Kyrgyzstan.pdf). 70 http://www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan/health.html, 14.01.10. 71 http://www.polioeradication.org/, 16.01.10. 72 For information on GAVI see http://www.gavialliance.org/. 73 UNICEF / National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007): Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006, Kyrgyz Republic. Bishkek, p. 18; also see http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/kyrgyzstan_background.html, 13.01.10 74 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/). 75 Ibid. 10 HepB3 immunisation coverage (per cent of population, according to WHO/UNICEF estimates) 76 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 10 44 57 99 99 99 97 90 94

Measles immunisation rate (per cent of children under 2 who have been immunized) 77 1991 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 94,1 97,8 98,9 98,0 99,7 99,3 98,9 97,3 98,8

Tuberculosis immunisation rate (per cent of children under 1 year who have been immunized) 78 1991 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 96,8 97,8 98,8 99,1 98,9 98,5 96,2 98,6 98,3

While incidences of diphtheria, tetanus and measles were each below 1 new case per 100.000 of population recently, there were 249,1 cases (per 100.000) of hepatitis and 107,2 new cases (per 100.000) of tuberculosis in 2007. The incident rate for hepatitis is the highest value of all CEE/CIS countries by far. The rate for tuberculosis is the second highest after Kazakhstan 79 . Meanwhile, the HIV infection rates in Kyrgyzstan are very low, although the data deviates depending on the source. According to official estimates, a total of 830 cases were registered in February 2006 80 ; UNICEF estimated the number of people living with HIV between 2.300 (low estimate) and 7.700 (high estimate) in 2007 81 ; CIA Factbook in turn speaks of some 4.200, estimated for the same year 82 . However, nearly all statistics indicate an adult HIV prevalence rate (aged 15-49) of less than 0,1%, which means Kyrgyzstan has a very low rate in comparison to the world, with the same prevalence as Germany, Israel or Sweden 83 . The vast majority of HIV infections in Kyrgyzstan is attributed to injecting drug abuse. More than half of the infected people live in Osh, most of them being prisoners – the southern capital is located on important routes for drug trafficking 84 . Other driving forces for the spread of HIV are sexual contacts (without the use of condoms) and poor hygiene procedures 85 .

Registered cases of HIV (newly registered) 1996 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 1 16 149 160 132 161 171 244 409

To anticipate the spreading of the infective disease, it is very important to inform, especially young people, about HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention as well as to create fundamental

76 http://www.who.int/immunization_monitoring/data/kgz.pdf. Hepatitis vaccine was introduced in 1999. 77 Ibid. 78 Ibid. 79 Ibid. 80 Library of Congress / Federal Research Division (2007): Country Profile: Kyrgyzstan, January 2007, p. 6. (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Kyrgyzstan.pdf) 81 http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/kyrgyzstan_statistics.html#55, 18.01.10. 82 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kg.html, 18.01.10. 83 Ibid. 84 Library of Congress / Federal Research Division (2007): Country Profile: Kyrgyzstan, January 2007, p. 6. (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Kyrgyzstan.pdf) 85 http://www.aidsalliance.org/linkingorganisationdetails.aspx?id=24, 18.01.10. 11 awareness for the issue. In the line of UNDP programmes on the prevention of AIDS, the Kyrgyz Republic developed school programmes to promote a healthy lifestyle, including the issues of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and family planning. In 1997, the State Programme on Prevention of HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections was passed 86 . Yet there are differences between regional origins in respect of the knowledge about HIV/AIDS. While 96% of women in the northern regions (and 99% in Bishkek) knew about the disease, only 81,8% in Batken, 86.4% in Osh, and 88.5% in Jalalabad were aware of it. Regarding the prevention of HIV/AIDS transmission, the numbers are even worse for the female inhabitants of southern oblasts: 41% in Batken, 29,5% in Osh and 19,1% in Jalalabad did not know at least one method of prevention 87 . An important factor for protecting children from the disease is the knowledge about mother-to-child transmission. HIV can be transmitted during pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding. According to MICS, 58% of the respondents knew all three specific ways of infecting; a total of 86% knew about the possibility of transmission in general 88 .

6. Education The educational system was structured according to the principles of Soviet politics until the mid-90s and hence highly centralized. Since gaining independence the system was brought closer to European conceptions. Education in Kyrgyzstan is compulsory for nine years, between ages seven and 15. Preschool education is not compulsory though. The system is divided into several levels: pre-primary (or preschool) education, primary education, secondary education and higher professional education. Pre-primary education is based on infant schools (for children aged 1,5-3 years) and kindergartens (3-7 years). Primary school is visited then for four years, following five years of secondary school. High school (15-17 years) is the final level of school education, which compromises two or three upper classes in the comprehensive school. Aside from that, pupils can visit technical or vocational schools to get prepared for specific occupations on the labour market. Higher professional education is provided by universities meanwhile, where students have the possibility to get bachelor (“Basis Education”) or master degrees (“Complete Higher Education”) 89 . Preschool institutions in the Soviet-era contained full-day nurseries and kindergartens, including nutrition, health care and education free of charge 90 . Due to the socio-economic crisis during the 1990s, the number of preschool institutions decreased and many former school buildings were sold to private and commercial users. The state budget expenditures on education sank from 7,6% (of the GDP) in 1990 to 3,5% in 2000; since 2001 the value is increasing again, so that in 2005 some 4,69% of the gross domestic product was spent on education 91 . The figures of Transmonee Report 2009 slightly deviate from the governmental statistics (2000: 3,0% / 2005: 4,2%). The latest expenditure-rate, raised in 2007, is 4,9% of the GDP 92 . According to official statistics, the number of preschool educational organizations

86 http://www.who.int/hiv/HIVCP_KGZ.pdf, 18.01.10. 87 UNICEF / National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007): Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006, Kyrgyz Republic. Bishkek, p. 69. 88 Ibid., p. 70. 89 http://www.mapsofworld.com/kyrgyzstan/education/, 04.01.10. 90 UNESCO (2006): Kyrgyzstan. Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programmes. Geneva, p. 8. 91 Ministry of Education, Science and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic (2006): Education Development Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007-2010), p. 7. (http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Kyrgyzstan/Kyrgyzstan%20Education%20Development%20Strateg y%202007-2010.pdf) 92 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/) 12 sank from 1.604 in 1990 to only 448 in 2005 93 . Especially in rural areas the decrease of childcare facilities is noticeable. Although the proportion of rural population is nearly two- thirds, only 27% of the children attending a preschool institution are rural. According to the same governmental report, there is a total amount of 188 rural kindergartens in Kyrgyzstan 94 . Many of them lack qualified staff, i.e. preschool workers often aren’t trained for early childhood care and do not have the possibility to acquire professional knowledge. Corresponding to a report compiled by UNESCO, there are 3.693 preschool workers in public institutions. 1.761 have a higher education, 1.147 have a special college degree, 453 only have primary education and 332 have incomplete higher education 95 . Furthermore there are only two specialized state institutions which retrain staff for kindergartens. Help is offered by international organizations like the Soros-Foundation 96 ; within the scope of the “Step by Step programme”, which trained more than 1.000 preschool workers since 1995 97 . Another problem for early development is a lack of adequate educational material, mainly in Kyrgyz language 98 . Beside public agencies also private childcare institutions and NGO’s are involved in fostering young children. One example for the efforts made by non-governmental organisations is the successful “jailoo” kindergarten programme initiated by Aga Khan Foundation. Because many children take part in the summer pasturage (jailoo) in the mountains for several months and therefore missing any form of institutionalized education, Aga Khan Foundation invented a system of so called “satellite kindergartens”. Those are operating in traditional nomadic tents (“yurts”) in the summer and the villages in the winter, so that children have the possibility to receive continuous and structured education. Since starting the project, the yurt kindergartens steadily expanded all over the country 99 . To improve the conditions for preschool children regarding nutrition, health, education and psycho-social development, the Kyrgyz government initiated a large-scale project on “Early Childhood Development” with financial support of the (ADB) 100 . A substantial part of the project is the creation of community-based preschools in several regions of the country. Aims are to alleviate access to pre-primary institutions for poor children, improve grade 1 teaching and to generally update pedagogy used in preschools. Due to the fact that families will continue to be an important part in the process of socialization and education, the project also aims to enhance the private practises of child care 101 . Despite the several approaches made by governmental and non-governmental organisations, there is further need for improvement regarding the pre-primary educational system in Kyrgyzstan. According to the latest “TransMONEE” report (2009), only 14,3% of population aged between three and six were enrolled in preschool institutions in 2007/08, though it has to be pointed out, that the figure almost doubled since 2000/01 (7,3%) 102 . The

93 Ministry of Education, Science and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic (2006): Education Development Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007-2010), p. 7. (http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Kyrgyzstan/Kyrgyzstan%20Education%20Development%20Strateg y%202007-2010.pdf) 94 Ibid, p. 8. 95 UNESCO (2006): Kyrgyzstan. Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programmes. Geneva, p. 5. 96 http://www.soros.org/about/foundations/kyrgyzstan, 05.01.10. 97 Ministry of Education, Science and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic (2006): Education Development Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007-2010), p. 9. (http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Kyrgyzstan/Kyrgyzstan%20Education%20Development%20Strateg y%202007-2010.pdf) 98 http://www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan/development_5543.html, 04.01.10 99 http://www.akdn.org/akf_education_jailoo.asp, 06.01.10. 100 For information on the work of Asian Development Bank see http://www.adb.org/Documents/TACRs/KGZ/32143-KGZ-TCR.pdf. 101 UNESCO (2006): Kyrgyzstan. Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programmes. Geneva, p. 8. 102 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/). 13 most important reason for the low rates of children in kindergartens, besides the lack of institutions and the lack of kindergarten-places is the financial situation of the family. According to a survey conducted in 2003, 38,2% of the interviewees refer to their “hard material situation” as the main reason for the child’s non-attendance of a preschool organisation, whereas 68% of the parents would like their children to visit one 103 .

Pre-primary education enrolments (net rates, per cent of population aged 3-6) 104 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 7,3 7,7 8,0 8,6 11,5 12,5 13,8 14,3

There are significant differences between rural and urban regions in regard to this indicator. According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), the rate of preschool attendance varies between 41,9% in Bishkek and 6,6% in the Batken region 105 . In contrast to the low values of preschool enrolments, the figures regarding compulsory schooling are considerably higher, as shown in the following tables.

Basic education (Primary and secondary school) enrolments / (gross enrolment ratio; per cent of relevant population) 106 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 96,2 95,2 94,8 95,1 95,2 96,2 96,3 97,6

Age-specific enrolment ratio of children 7-14 (children enrolled in different levels of education as per cent of population aged 7-14) 107 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 - - - - 94,2 95,5 95,4 96,8

Even though the rates of enrolment are relatively high, it appears that as children get older they are increasingly not attending school but working to support the family 108 . The primary school net attendance ratio is 92,1% for the whole country, while the secondary school net attendance rate is 89,2% 109 . Other studies even speak of lower rates; the Child Poverty Research (2004) estimated that 15-20% of children in Kyrgyzstan do not attend school 110 . The

103 Ministry of Education, Science and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic (2006): Education Development Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007-2010), p. 9. (http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Kyrgyzstan/Kyrgyzstan%20Education%20Development%20Strateg y%202007-2010.pdf) 104 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/). 105 UNICEF / National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007): Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006, Kyrgyz Republic. Bishkek, p. 14. 106 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/). 107 Ibid. 108 It is necessary to emphasize the difference between enrolment- and attendance rates. The latter are collected through household surveys and population censuses, in which respondents are asked e.g. if their children went to school this year. For this reason, the method describes how many children actually go to school. For a discussion on advantages and disadvantages of using net attendance rates, over net enrolments, cf. UNESCO (2007): School Attendance and Enrolment. Global trends and projections, p. 61ff (http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001555/155501e.pdf#64). 109 UNICEF / National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007): Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006, Kyrgyz Republic. Bishkek, p. 7. 110 UNICEF (2008): Child Trafficking in Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek, p. 50. 14 attendance rate for both primary and secondary schools is higher for girls than for boys on average 111 . This could be evidence for the aforementioned proposition that one important reason for missing school is earning money, since boys are more likely to be responsible for supporting their parents 112 . Enrolments in high school and vocational education are preferred by almost half of all Kyrgyz adolescents. A reason for that could be the rather marginal chances to get direct access to the labour market.

General upper secondary (high school) enrolments (gross enrolment ratio, per cent of population aged 15-18) 113 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 32,0 33,4 48,9 47,0 43,7 42,8 41,8 40,5

Upper-secondary education (all programmes including vocational/technical school) enrolments (gross enrolment ratio; per cent of population aged 15-18) 114 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 48,9 49,6 56,7 55,0 51,7 50,9 50,1 48,7

Another significant problem of the education system in Kyrgyzstan is teacher shortage. According to official sources, only half of the graduate teachers (between 1.900 and 2.600 per year) actually choose to work in school 115 . Other studies, however, illustrate that less than two thirds (63%) of the students applying for teacher education complete their studies. Even more drastic seems the fact that just about 17% of the first-year students actually work as a teacher and only 14% remain in their jobs after one year 116 . This significant decrease leads to a permanent shortage of between 3000 and 3600 teachers 117 . One indicator for measuring shortage is the “pupils-teacher ratio”. It’s particularly high in regard of primary education – 24,5 (2007/08, cf. table) is the peak value of all CIS/CEE countries; regarding secondary education, Kyrgyzstan has the second highest rate after Tajikistan 118 .

Pupils-teacher ratio in primary education (pupils per teacher) 119 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 24,6 24,2 24,6 24,4 24,7 24,1 24,3 24,5

111 UNICEF / National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007): Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006, Kyrgyz Republic. Bishkek, p. 118. 112 For further details on the linkage between child labour and school attendance see chapter 7. 113 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/) 114 Ibid. 115 Ministry of Education, Science and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic (2006): Education Development Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007-2010), p. 13. (http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Kyrgyzstan/Kyrgyzstan%20Education%20Development%20Strateg y%202007-2010.pdf) 116 Lecture at the 7 th Central Asia Forum On Education, September 15-17, 2009: 10 + 1 indicators for measuring real teacher shortage in Kyrgyzstan, p. 4. (http://www.unicef.org/ceecis/GITA_CAFE_Pres_Sept_17_2009%281%29.pdf) 117 Ministry of Education, Science and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic (2006): Education Development Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007-2010), p. 13. (http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Kyrgyzstan/Kyrgyzstan%20Education%20Development%20Strateg y%202007-2010.pdf) 118 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/). 119 Ibid. 15

Pupils-teacher ratio in secondary general education (pupils per teacher) 120 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 17,7 17,2 17,9 17,4 16,8 16,8 16,6 16,5

Most affected by teacher shortages are Talas oblast and Osh city. 74,1% of the schools in the Talas province suffer from a shortage, as 71,4% of the schools in Osh do. The lowest rate can be found in the Naryn region with a rate of 27,2%. The average rate in Kyrgyzstan meanwhile is 56,6%121 . This could potentially be explained with the low salaries. The average income in 2005 was 1.621 som, which corresponds to approximately 40 US Dollar or 62% of the average Kyrgyz salary 122 . It is a common goal for different parties to improve the education system in Kyrgyzstan, including the Kyrgyz government and nongovernmental international organisations such as UNESCO, UNICEF or Aga Khan Foundation. First steps have been taken, for instance, with the successful application of the “Education For All – Fast Track Initiative” (EFA FTI) 123 , which granted Kyrgyzstan a sum of 15 million US Dollar – administered by the World Bank, i.e. several countries as donors – for educational programmes in 2007-2008. Another US$ 15,5 million grant was issued by the Asian Development Bank 124 .

7. Play and Recreation National traditions and culture take a special place in the preferences of young people nowadays. Adolescents are increasingly interested in riding – a hobby that reflects a part of the nomadic history. There are several forms of activities on horseback, e.g. horse racing (“At Chobish” and “Djorgo Salysh”), racing with two or three years old foals (“Kunan Chabish”), wrestling on horseback (“Oodarysh”), collecting coins from the earth at gallop (“Tyin Enmei”) etc. 125 . “Kiz Kuumai”, which was originally part of the traditional Kyrgyz wedding, is played by a boy on a horseback, who has to catch a girl and kiss her 126 . “Kok Boru” (literally “gray wolf”), also known as “Ulak tartysh” is one of the most popular national games played on horseback. According to the rules of the game, the riders need to grab the carcass of a calf or a goat from the ground and deliver it behind the goal line of the opposing team. The ancient game already appeared in times, when shepherds with their herds pastured in the mountains for the whole year. The animals were often attacked by wolves and the shepherds had no firearms to defend themselves. Some men chased after the wolves and beat them with sticks and whips, picked them up from the ground and tried to snatch them away from each other as sort of a competition 127 .

120 Ibid. 121 Lecture at the 7 th Central Asia Forum On Education, September 15-17, 2009: 10 + 1 indicators for measuring real teacher shortage in Kyrgyzstan, p. 6. (http://www.unicef.org/ceecis/GITA_CAFE_Pres_Sept_17_2009%281%29.pdf) 122 Ministry of Education, Science and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic (2006): Education Development Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007-2010). Bishkek, p. 13. (http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Kyrgyzstan/Kyrgyzstan%20Education%20Development%20Strateg y%202007-2010.pdf) 123 http://www.educationfasttrack.org/home/, 07.01.10. 124 UNICEF (2008): Child Trafficking in Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek, p. 50. 125 http://www.horses.kg/ru/games, 21.01.10; http://www.fantasticasia.net/?p=142&travel=National%20games%20on%20horses%20with%20goat%20 carcass%20in%20Kyrgyzstan, 21.01.10. 126 Ibid. 127 Ibid. 16 While wrestling as a traditional sport is still very popular and taught from a young age, there are also relatively “new” sports such as football, basketball or tennis. Especially girls still learn traditional handcrafts, e.g. binding carpets. Rugs made of silk or felt (“Shirdaks” and “Ala kiyiz”) are decorated with natural ornaments. Music, especially folk music (“Kui”), plays an important role for young Kyrgyz people. Among the many national instruments, the best-known is the komuz, which is played in the whole Central Asian region. The komuz is a national symbol and even depicted on the one-som note 128 . It’s a stringed instrument made from a single piece of wood and can be used as a solo instrument, as part of a large group, or as part of a folklore ensemble. Both men and women play the komuz. The Temir Komuz (literally “iron komuz”), also known as the “Jew’s Harp” in Western countries, also became a musical symbol. Although men sometimes play on this instrument, it is easier to encounter female artists. In the Kyrgyz tradition, the sound of Temir komuz, which is played near the cradle of a newborn, contributes to an intelligent, bright and talented child 129 . Currently, the Kyrgyz youth, especially in urban areas, has very different interests. As mentioned, contemporary sports such as football and basketball can be identified more and more as parts of popular culture. Favourite places for spending leisure time are parks, theatres and cinemas. Musically, instead of folkloristic, adolescents prefer rock or rap music. Moreover, young people are exposed to new technologies and mass media. Particularly in urban areas the proportion of internet users is growing steadily, as is the number of internet cafes. Regarding leisure time activities at early childhood, MICS indicates that children in urban areas have greater access to books than in rural areas. Four-fifths (81%) of urban children under five years have three or more books, while the percentage is 72,9% in rural areas in this case. The main reasons for this difference are the lower average incomes of rural families and reduced possibilities to purchase books in rural areas 130 . Beside books, another beneficial source for a positive development of young children is toys. This can mean self- made toys, purchased toys and objects found around or outside the house. According to MICS, one quarter of the children less than five years had three or more toys. The number of purchased and self-made toys depends on the regional origin. 95,1% of urban children had purchased toys from a shop and 86,4% of rural children used such. Self-made toys are more common in rural areas (33,1% of children aged 0-5) than in urban regions, where only 15,5% of the children own self-made toys 131 .

8. Child Labour Child labour is defined in ILO conventions and in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The cornerstones of these agreements is the opinion that labour – irrespective of the fact whether it’s done in the household or in the job market – must not disrupt the educational process and, secondly, must not cause negative effects on the child’s health. More precisely, child labourers are “children below 18 in harmful occupations or work activities in the labour market or their own household, all children undertaking work in the labour market or household interfering with their primary education, all children under 15 in full time employment and all children under 13 in part time work. ”132

128 Som is the Kyrgyz currency. 129 http://www.advantour.com/rus/kyrgyzstan/culture/music.htm, 20.01.10. 130 UNICEF / National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007): Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006, Kyrgyz Republic. Bishkek, p. 55. 131 Ibid., p. 55-56. 132 Grimsrud, Bjorne (2003): Millennium Development Goals and Child Labour, p. 6. (http://www.ucw- project.org/pdf/publications/mdg_and_cl.pdf). 17 Child labour as a social problem is linked with the goals expressed in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), particularly in the first and second postulations “Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger” and “Achieve universal primary education”. Vice versa, fighting child labour may not only improve the conditions of psychological and physical development of children but will also have benefits for the education system 133 . Children's rights are protected by the state legislation – in 1994 the Kyrgyz parliament ratified the international Convention on the Rights of the Child. The law defines the age at which children can work, the areas in which they can work, and the duration of their working day 134 . Anyhow child labour is a problem in many . A major problem for adequate examination of this topic is a lack of valid statistics. One reason for this could be that child labour is illegal and therefore not reflected in official reports 135 . MICS provides data from a survey, collected by means of a household questionnaire. Herein, child labour is defined as follows: 1. Ages 5-11: at least one hour of economic work or 28 hours of domestic work per week 2. Ages 12-14: at least 14 hours of economic work or 28 hours of domestic work per week 136 According to the survey findings, 3,6% of all children aged 5-14 were in labour – 4,3% of them are male and 2,9% female. A significant figure is that 1,9% were living in urban regions, while 4,5% were rural child labourers. The type of labour was also differentiated: 1,5% of the children worked outside their households and only 0,1% are paid for their work. 1,2% did more than 28 hours of domestic work per week and 1,3% were engaged in the family business 137 . Moreover, it is interesting that a bigger part (10,1%) of the working children resided in Chui oblast, which is located in the industrialised north. The second highest rate (5,1%) was stated for the rather poor Batken region in the south 138 . Simultaneously, the primary school net attendance ratio (85,2% in Chui / 79,6% in Batken) is relatively low compared to the other Kyrgyz oblasts139 . The most important source for a description of child labour in Kyrgyzstan is an initial study compiled by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). Children in Kyrgyzstan are working in four main areas: agriculture, heavy industry and manual work, housework and the service sector. A main cause of child labour is the ongoing economic crisis, which began after Independence in 1991. According to the ILO report, 14,4% of the economically active population is unemployed; more than half of the population (55,3%) is poor; 23% of whom can be described as extremely poor 140 . Families, who live in a hard financial situation, often tend to see their children as a possibility for additional financial support. Another reason for child labour is the educational crisis: decreasing governmental expenditures on education, closed schools, overcrowded classrooms, and lack of qualified personnel 141 . Under these

133 Ibid. 134 International Labour Organization / International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (2001): Child Labour in Kyrgyzstan. An Initial Study. Bishkek, p. 4. 135 Ibid. 136 UNICEF / National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007): Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006, Kyrgyz Republic. Bishkek, p. 62. 137 Ibid. 138 Ibid., p. 123. 139 Ibid., p. 118. 140 International Labour Organization / International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (2001): Child Labour in Kyrgyzstan. An Initial Study. Bishkek, p. 10. According to a UNICEF report of 2003, 44,4% of the Kyrgyz people can be described as poor, while 13,4 % are extremely poor, cf. UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre (2003): Kyrgyzstan: Employment of Women with Children and Child Poverty. MONEE Country Analytical Report 2003. Bishkek, p. 12. 141 Cf. Chapter 5. 18 difficult circumstances, some children are more interested in earning money than in receiving school education 142 . The ILO report states that the largest number of child workers (excluding domestic work) is concentrated in Chui and the (Osh city and Kara-Suu town)143 . This is substantiated with the argument that both regions are more developed than other areas in the republic and thus attractive for employees. Chui region, which contains the capital Bishkek, is the industrial and commercial centre of Kyrgyzstan. Osh region attracts child workers because of its seasonal agricultural importance, especially in the spring and autumn months. While a predominant part of child labourers in Osh and Kara-Suu works in “trade, transportation of goods, gathering precious metals, and also as subsidiary workers, in cafes, construction, and in agriculture” 144 as in the production of bricks (one third of production is done by children and teenagers), the fields of occupation in Bishkek are “trade, cleaning and repairing shoes, washing cars, transportation, loading and unloading goods, and working in cafes” 145 . The most performed work in all regions is selling goods; in the southern areas, seasonal work on cotton fields is also widespread. A low percentage of children are even earning money with begging and prostitution – the worst forms of child labour 146 . Besides employment in the economy, many children are engaged in domestic work, which includes “clean(ing) houses, launder(ing), cook(ing) meals, set(ting) tables, store(ing) wood, work(ing) in gardens, and baby-sit(ing)”147 . The numbers however are yet harder to find in official statistics than information about the involvement of children in the “real” labour market. In some way the domestic activities of children are hidden from public control. According to the survey conducted by the ILO, 83% of the interviewed domestic workers are female. A quite remarkable information is that only 14,9% of the servants are living with their families – on the other hand, 45,7% are living with relatives and 34% with third persons. These peculiarities are explained with the wish of – especially rural – parents to provide a good education for their children; therefore they are often sent to relatives in the city. Quasi in return for providing food, clothes, wages and money for school, the children are obliged to work in the household 148 . As defined in the above mentioned conventions, child labour must not disrupt the educational process. Anyhow, its negative impact in this regard is evident: 42,6% of the respondents (i.e. interviewed child workers in economical occupations) declared to not attend school. The relation of non-attendants (181 children) to attendants (163) seems particularly high in Bishkek, in comparison to other regions (Osh: 36 - 120 / Kara-Suu: 21 - 28 / Naryn: 17 - 33). The same question was posed to domestic servants: 29,8% (thus, nearly one third) answered that they do not attend school 149 . The second important claim is that child labour ought not to harm health. It should be mentioned, that a conjunction of disease and labour is relatively hard to identify since an appropriate diagnosis is often made years after the occupation. According to the ILO survey, 33,6% of the asked children answered, that they have or have had an illness or disease at least one time. Sorted according to types of disease, “infectious disease” was most referred, followed by “cold (quinsy, flu etc.)”, “internal (kidneys, bladder, stomach)” and “Nervous system problems (headaches)”. Most affected by sickness are children who work as

142 International Labour Organization / International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (2001): Child Labour in Kyrgyzstan. An Initial Study. Bishkek, p. 10. 143 Ibid., p. 12. 144 Ibid. 145 Ibid., p. 13. 146 Ibid. 147 Ibid., p. 14. 148 Ibid., p. 15. 149 Ibid., p. 40-42. 19 prostitutes (venereal and infectious diseases), and crop/field workers (internal, infectious diseases, cold) 150 . As mentioned, the fields of child labour are multifaceted – from working in bazaars as porters or selling goods to hard physical and very dangerous work in coal mines 151 . The latter is another example of the worst forms of child labour. Harmful occupations particularly in urban regions, such as prostitution or begging, are linked to the relatively new phenomenon of street children, which didn’t exist in the Soviet era 152 . With the deterioration of the economy, the traditionally strong institution of family lost its stability more and more. Some children on the street are working to support their families because the income is insufficient; some are just neglected or abandoned by their parents. In the course of migration, motivated by the search for employment, many parents leave their children behind. According to different statistics, there is a range of 1000 - 5000 street children in Bishkek, who are on average between eight and ten years old 153 . Due to the prevalence of child labour in Kyrgyzstan, national and international programmes were started. In 2005, ILO initiated the project “Reducing Worst Forms of Child Labour”, which runs in all Central Asian countries, except for Turkmenistan. The project works in cooperation with the governmental programme on reducing child labour and supports local NGOs that work on the issue 154 . But there are still shortcomings in the judicial situation. Although international documents like the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the ILO Minimum Age Convention have been incorporated into national laws such as the Labour Code, the Law on Education and the Civil Code of the Kyrgyz Republic, the ILO report of 2001 stated “many gaps in national legislation on child labour” 155 . The main criticism is, that there is a „lack of consensus on the enumeration (established by the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic) of simple and laborious types of work, and work under unhealthy or dangerous labour conditions. Thus, there is no clear distinction between economic activities of children that are acceptable and activities that constitute child labour and therefore need to be stopped” 156 .

9. Family Starting a family is a responsible and traditionally structured procedure in Kyrgyzstan. If sons or daughters marry for instance, they leave the parental home. On the contrary, the youngest son stays in the parents' house even though he gets married. The function of this tradition is to ensure the support of the parents, especially when they get too old to manage the household and care for themselves. Because marrying is treated very seriously, a common goal is to intermarry with noble families and distinguished clans. The relatives of the bride and groom are decisive for getting respect and attention 157 . The marriage can only take place by mutual agreement of the parents. According to the tradition of Kyrgyz people, the groom has to pay

150 Ibid., p. 24f. 151 Antelava, Natalia (2007): Child labour in Kyrgyz coal mines (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6955202.stm, 08.02.10). 152 IRIN (2001): IRIN Focus on street children in Bishkek (http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=14829, 08.02.10.) 153 IRIN (2006): Child labour remains rife (http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=34533, 08.02.10) 154 Ibid. 155 International Labour Organization / International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (2001):

Child Labour in Kyrgyzstan. An Initial Study. Bishkek, p. 31. 156 Ibid. 157 http://www.easttime.ru/countries/int/1/4/47.html, 17.12.09. 20 the girl's parents a so-called “bride-price” 158 . This is directly related to the fact that the man’s parents get a new family member, while the girl's parents are losing one 159 . As shown in the following table, the marriage rate in Kyrgyzstan was on a high level – compared to countries in East Europe for example – shortly before Independence. In 1991 it reached its climax with 10,5 marriages per 1.000 mid-year population, then it halved to only 5,0 marriages in 2000. The same can be observed for the age-specific marriage rate, which only contains population between 15 and 44 years. The all-time high (24,2 marriages per 1.000 mid-year population) was in 1991, too, while the lowest level was in 2000. A possible explanation for this tremendous decrease could be the fundamental insecurity caused by the transformation process and the economic instabilities throughout the 1990s. With lower chances to get employment and thus low chances of regular income, it seems understandable that less Kyrgyz decided to start a family. The downside trend was stopped at the beginning of the 2000s and the numbers began to increase until the latest census in 2007.

Crude marriage rate (per 1,000 mid-year population) 160 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 9,9 5,0 5,6 6,3 6,8 6,8 7,3 8,5 8,5

Age-specific marriage rate (marriages per 1,000 mid-year population aged 15-44) 161 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 22,8 10,3 11,5 12,8 13,8 13,7 14,6 16,9 17,1

The average age of both women and men at first marriage has been on a constant level during the 1990s. In the last decade there was a slight increase, which means a convergence to the European level. The desire of young people to receive a decent education before getting married is a plausible explanation for this development.

Average age of women at first marriage (in years) 162 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 21,7 22,3 22,5 22,4 23,0 23,0 23,2 24,0 23,4

Average age of men at first marriage (in years) 163 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 24,4 25,6 25,9 26,3 26,4 26,4 26,6 27,8 26,8

As already mentioned, in the Kyrgyz tradition it is still usual for parents to encourage a marriage of their children in terms of social and financial benefit. This leads to the problem that young people, particularly women or daughters aren’t involved in the decision process of a marriage. Moreover, some aren’t even old enough to make an informed decision. Child or juvenile marriages are prohibited in the Kyrgyz Family Code, which sets a minimum age of 18. In exceptional cases though, local state bodies are allowed to give permits to persons aged

158 http://euroasiainform.com/content/view/9/13/lang,ru/, 17.12.09 159 http://www.centralasia-travel.com/ru/countries/kirgistan/custom, 17.12.09.

160 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/). 161 Ibid. 162 Ibid. 163 Ibid. 21 16; a reason for getting this permit could be pregnancy 164 . At the end of the 19 th century, early marriage was characteristic for Kyrgyzstan – in 1897, more than one third (35%) of 15-16 year old girls were married. This feature didn’t change until the country was incorporated into the Soviet Union, where young women had to take part in the educational system 165 . According to the MICS, today approximately 12,2% of women get married before they’re 18 and yet 0,8% have their marriage before their 15 th Birthday 166 . Marriages before 18 are more often in rural than in urban areas (14,2% vs. 9,7% for women aged 20-49 years) and the percentage of married women between 15 and 19 years is also higher in rural areas (10,1% vs. 4,1% in urban regions) 167 . Apart from location, there are two further indicators which can explain the reasons for early marriage nowadays: social background/property and level of education. Firstly, women without secondary education are the most likely group to marry before 18, in contrast to daughters who visited secondary school (28,4% vs. 13,1%). The most improbable group are those with higher education. Secondly, women from very poor families are more likely to get married at an early age (16,5%) than women from the richest households (9,1%) 168 . The negative outcome of early marriage is described in the MICS as follows: “[...] it impedes the development of girls, and often results in early pregnancy and social isolation reduces the chances of the girl receiving a proper education or vocational training. They reinforce the gendered nature of poverty. Women married at younger ages are more likely to dropout of school, experience higher levels of fertility, have larger probability of mortality related to maternity, and are more likely to become victims of domestic violence. […] Required to perform heavy amounts of domestic work, under pressure to demonstrate fertility, and responsible for raising children while still children themselves, married girls and child mothers face constrained decision-making and reduced life choices.” 169

The divorce rate per 1.000 mid-year population in Kyrgyzstan remains on a relatively constant level. The rate surveyed in 2007 is higher than that of Central Asian countries Tajikistan (0,7), Uzbekistan (0,6) 170 and Turkmenistan (0,9), and lower than that of Kazakhstan (2,3). For comparison, CIS countries (Commonwealth of Independent States) Armenia (0,9), Azerbaijan (1,0) and Georgia 171 (0,5) have lower rates, while (3,7), Moldova (3,9), Russia (4,8) and Ukraine (3,8) have significantly higher divorce rates.

Crude divorce rate (per 1,000 mid-year population) 172 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 1,8 1,1 1,2 1,2 1,1 1,0 1,2 1,3 1,4

Fostering of children and parent-child interaction in Kyrgyz households depend on the children’s age. According to the 2004 Report “Practices of Fostering Children of Early Age” we know that parents are generally interested in their children. Relating to the question of fostering children less than 1 year old, 95% of the mothers answered that they talked to their

164 UNICEF / National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007): Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006, Kyrgyz Republic. Bishkek, p. 64. 165 Ibid., p. 65. 166 Ibid., p. 7. 167 Ibid., p. 64. 168 Ibid. 169 Ibid. 170 The values for Uzbekistan were raised in 2006. 171 Georgia was member from 1994 to 2009. 172 UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS (2009): TransMONEE database 2009 (http://www.transmonee.org/). 22 baby and sang songs – so most of them are aware of the importance of communication 173 . 79% of respondents said that their children owned toys 174 . Games and toys, which help to promote the physical and psychological development, do also play an important role for children aged 1-3 years. Only 4% of the respondents indicated that their children did not play games at all; almost every child at this age had its own toys. Nevertheless it seems that parents pay more attention to physical development than to psychological since many children are not taught to draw or to distinguish colours and parents do not read books to them 175 . As children grow up, parents spend less time with them, especially fathers. The reason for this is a lack of free time – fathers are busy with their jobs, while mothers have to do domestic work 176 . Meanwhile the educational practices seem to be more problematic for children of 3-7 years. All in all parents seem to know or apply few practices that foster children's intellectual or personality development. Only 57% of children aged 3-7 have own books – 60% read or look at books regularly – and 70% possess drawing tools. Parents read books to children only in 20% of households, 40% of parents never read books to children. Most children aged 3-7, according to the surveyed mothers, have memorization skills, i.e. they can recite poetry or know songs. But only few have some knowledge about the alphabet or are able to count until 100 – important skills for children who are about to visit school 177 . Besides, the teaching of rules to little children validates the impression of a weak fostering of their personality development: rules of good behaviour (to obey, saying hello and goodbye, avoid doing some things in the presence of other people etc.) have priority over the teaching of safety rules (not to leave the house, not to touch knives etc.), which might allow the child some independent but at the same time prudent behaviour178 . It is characteristic for children as they grow older, to be involved in domestic work; almost all rural children at the age of 7 help their parents with cleaning the house, gardening, looking after livestock, looking after younger siblings etc 179 . Family life in Kyrgyzstan is structured by certain moral concepts, partially influenced by Islam. There are strict hierarchies and subordination relating to family members; usually the father as the leader makes all important decisions and holds the property. Respect towards the elderly is a central moral institution. The style of raising children therefore can be described as rather authoritarian. This often leads to domestic violence towards children – although education without corporal punishment is of paramount importance to foster children’s intellectual and self-development. MICS asked mothers and caretakers of children aged 3-14 years how they discipline their children if they misbehave. Three indicators were given: 1. Psychological aggression as punishment 2. Minor physical punishment 3. Severe physical punishment 180

According to the survey, about one half of the children (51,4%) had to suffer one form of punishment by mother, caretaker or another household member. Even 2,6% were punished with severe physical methods. Another finding is that male children are more frequently

173 ‘Expert’ Consulting Agency / UNICEF in Kyrgyzstan (2004): Report on results of sociological research “Practices of Fostering Children of Early Age”. Bishkek, p. 10. 174 Ibid., p. 11; also cf. chapter 6. 175 Ibid., p. 68. 176 Ibid., p. 12. 177 Ibid. 178 Ibid., p. 51. 179 Ibid, also cf. chapter 7. 180 UNICEF / National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007): Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006, Kyrgyz Republic. Bishkek, p. 63. 23 victims of both minor and severe physical punishment (37,4% and 2,9% respectively) than female children (33,7% and 2,3% respectively) 181 . These rates seem high, particularly if the sensitivity of the issue and the possibility of getting socially desired answers are taken into account. Anyway, it is interesting that only 7,7% of the respondents believed imposing physical punishment was a correct way to raise a child 182 . According to the 2004 Report “Practices of Fostering Children of Early Age”, more than half of the parents admitted to slap their children “sometimes” (40,7%) or even “often” (13,5 %) 183 . Domestic violence is not only experienced by children, but also by women. Violence against women committed by the husband appears in different forms of physical action (slapping, suffocating, shaking etc.) and forms of sexual violence (forced sexual intercourse). In the MICS, women were asked for their opinions towards domestic violence by means of different scenarios. According to the results, 25,6% of the respondents accepted violence in the case of disagreement and objecting to husband, 22,4% in the case of inappropriate child care and 20,5% in the case of leaving the house without husband’s permission. The proportion of women is lower if the cause is burned food (11,3%) or refusal of sexual intercourse (9,5%). About 38% of the respondents supported domestic violence due to any of those reasons. Furthermore, domestic violence was twice as often justified by rural women than by urban women 184 . In order to improve the situation in families and to empower victims of domestic violence, the parliament (Jogorku Kenesh) enacted a law in 2003. The “Law on Social – Legal Protection against Domestic Violence” prohibits any forms of violence (physical, sexual, psychological etc.) in households, defines the rights of victims and refers to institutions helping to prevent domestic violence 185 . Despite the good legislative prerequisites, only few adults and children know about their rights and often are afraid to report domestic abuse 186 . While family-based problems like early marriage or domestic violence are internal issues, there are also external factors which Kyrgyz families are confronted with. One of the most demanding problems is the wide-spread poverty 187 . Due to a large number of poor families and at the same time limited financial capacity of the Kyrgyz Government, there is a targeted state support for the most indigent families with children. To be classified as “needy”, two legal requirements have to be complied: a) The family income must be below the guaranteed minimum level of consumption 188 b) Disability because of illness or age

About 10% of the population receives poverty allowances, of which 96% are children. Generally, the target of poverty programmes is not only to ensure the biological surviving of the family, but to create conditions for socio-economic development and opportunities for self-support. In the course of a registration of the population in 1999, families were categorized in terms of their social perspectives. With this measure it was possible to provide

181 Ibid. 182 Ibid. 183 ‘Expert’ Consulting Agency / UNICEF in Kyrgyzstan (2004): Report on results of sociological research “Practices of Fostering Children of Early Age”. Bishkek, p. 61. 184 Ibid., p. 66. 185 Government of the Kyrgyz Republic (2003): Law on Social – Legal Protection against Domestic Violence. Approved by the Legislative Assembly of Jogorku Kenesh of Kyrgyz Republic on January 31, 2003. Bishkek. (www.stopvaw.org/uploads/KYRGYZ_REPUBLIC_2.doc) 186 UNICEF (2008): Child Trafficking in Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek, p. 51. 187 Cf. chapter 7 for numbers on poverty. 188 “The guaranteed minimum level of consumption (GMLC) is a social standard set by the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic proceeding from the national budget and the state of the economy with the account taken of the minimum consumer budget. It allows to ensure poor families and individuals the necessary survival level of consumption through subsidies.” UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre (2003): Kyrgyzstan: Employment of Women with Children and Child Poverty. MONEE Country Analytical Report 2003. Bishkek, p. 12. 24 targeted support in the form of e.g. micro-credits, land allotments, equipment, and training of unemployed etc 189 .

10. Conclusion The conditions and structures of childhood in Kyrgyzstan have undergone significant changes since the beginning of the 1990s. While the centralist organisation of the Soviet system provided at least consistency by some means, independent Kyrgyzstan firstly had to initiate fundamental structural transformations and act under harsh economic circumstances. The dissolution of the Soviet Union has affected nearly all policies in Kyrgyzstan, foremost labour-, health- and education politics. In regard to children’s well-being, some steps were taken to meet international standards, such as the signing of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the enactment of the Children’s Code, the establishing of Child Protection Department and several social programmes. Despite the legal initiatives of the government, there is still need for improvement in the perspective of organisations like UNICEF or international projects such as the Millennium Development Goals. Infant mortality rate for instance, one of the key indicators in respect to the MDGs, could not be improved notably because there are still deficits both in the medical infrastructure (hospitals, technology, medicaments etc.) and trained personnel, which is partially due to decreased government expenditures on health. It should be mentioned though that there are differences between urban and rural regions – the lack of health care is especially distinctive in the mostly poor rural areas. On the other hand, child mortality rates due to several measured diseases decreased. Another recent success is an extension of immunisation rates all along the line with the help of international programmes. Attention should be given to the yet low but increasing HIV rates though – hence, it is necessary to create awareness for the disease and provide information to young people by means of school courses for example. Besides the restructuring of health care, another crucial task for the future will be an improvement of the education system in Kyrgyzstan. Similar to the health system, one can state infrastructural deficits, a lack of trained personnel and reduced public expenditures. A special problem concerning education is early childhood development – in contrast to the Soviet era there is no obligation for children to take part in pre-school education. Despite several programmes initiated by government and NGOs, there is definitely a need for further efforts with a view to the low enrolment rates. Although enrolment rates for primary and secondary school are relatively high, it appears that as children get older they are increasingly not attending school, especially with regard to poor families and rural inhabitants. One reason for children to miss school is the pressure of earning money because the family’s income is not sufficient – at this point, the ongoing economical crisis unfolds a direct impact on the child’s well being. Since 1991, child labour is increasingly in demand in the four sectors of agriculture, industry, service and domestic work. Some forms of labour – especially hard physical and dangerous work – cause negative effects on a child’s health, furthermore it is evident that a high percentage of child workers do not attend school. The precarious labour market situation is also a reason for the rather new phenomenon of street children, child trafficking and child prostitution. Maybe these are the worst problems that the Kyrgyz government has to solve in the next years. Despite the incorporation of international agreements on child labour into national law and concerted projects with ILO, there are still shortcomings in the judicial and actual situation.

189 Ibid., p. 13. 25 One way to understand Kyrgyz culture would be to observe the many traditional games which are played by adolescents and children. But also family life gives instructive insights in the structures of social life. Two features seem rather problematic in the perspective of human- and child rights respectively: Early marriage, which is traditionally more common in rural areas and secondly domestic violence towards women and children. In 2003, a law against domestic violence was passed in order to protect and empower victims, but only few actually know about their rights. Taking into account the tough economical circumstances, Kyrgyzstan certainly has made efforts in the last 20 years. However, the greatest political challenges regarding children’s rights and children’s well-being will only be accomplished in cooperation with non-governmental organisations and projects. But it is not only the achievement of international standards, which will be necessary in the long run; also the harmonizing of the different ethnical groups within the country and – not least – the strong desire to preserve and rediscover Kyrgyz culture are demanding goals for Kyrgyzstan’s future. Steffen Eisentraut

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