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Kyrgyz Republic Country Gender Assessment Kyrgyz Republic THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC A GENDERED TRANSITION Soviet Legacies and New Risks COUNTRY GENDER ASSESSMENT East and Central Asia Regional Department and Regional and Sustainable Development Department Asian Development Bank December 2005 © 2005 Asian Development Bank All rights reserved. Published 2005. Printed in the Philippines. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available Publication Stock No. 122405 Asian Development Bank ADB country gender assessment to provide background information and analysis on gender and development issues in its developing member countries 1. Asian Development Bank. 2. Gender and Development. 3. The Kyrgyz Republic. The views expressed in this book are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. The Asian Development Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. Use of the term “country” does not imply any judgment by the authors or the Asian Development Bank as to the legal or other status of any territorial entity. Acknowledgements This country gender assessment (CGA) was prepared with support from the East and Central Asia Regional Department (ECRD) and Regional Sustainable Development Department (RSDD) as part of a regional Asian Development Bank (ADB) technical assistance (TA) project covering four of the Central Asian Republics (CARs)—Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan. In addition, to supporting government efforts in these four countries to promote gender equality and mainstream gender into national poverty reduction strategies, the CGAs aim to ensure that the interventions of ADB are responsive to country gender conditions and commitments. It is hoped that the report will also be useful to government and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and to individuals working in the field of gender and development. The Kyrgyz Republic CGA has been prepared by East and Central Asia Social Sector Division (ECSS) with a team lead by Sri Wening Handayani. The report was written by a consultant, Fabia Shah. Thanks are due first and foremost to Talaygul Isakunova from the Secretariat of the National Council on Women, Family and Gender Development of the Kyrgyz Republic, who arranged all of the field visits, assisted with data gathering, and provided additional information as well. Natalia Kolesnikova and Alla Orda have provided translation. Monique Ischi and Ferdinand Reclamado provided production assistance. Final editing assistance was provided by Sara Medina. Cover photograph courtesy of Peter Wallum, (ECSS). The report also benefited from the constructive inputs of the peer reviewers–Shireen Lateef, (MKSS), Vankina B. Tulashidhar (SAGF), Jennifer Francis (RSGS), Harriet Wilkinson, (ECAE), and Francesco Tornieri, (RSGS). The ADB staff at the Resident Mission also provided much logistical support and guidance, and the Country Director Ashraf Malik demonstrated his support for this initiative by giving generously of their time and advice. Robert Wihtol, Director of Social Sector Division, East and Central Asia Regional Department provided overall guidance to the report team throughout the process. This report would not have been possible without the special assistance provided by officials of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, representatives of international development agencies and NGOs, as well as the many national NGOs and development experts in the Kyrgyz Republic who so generously shared information, documents, perspectives, and advice on gender and development issues. In particular, the team wishes to thank the participants at three workshops held between November 2004 and April 2005 who helped to both define and later comment on the paper. The report updates information contained in an earlier publication, Women and Gender Relations: The Kyrgyz Republic in Transition, ADB 1997 and the 1996 Country Briefing Paper on Women in Kyrgyzstan. A variety of sources were used in the preparation of this CGA. Qualitative data was gathered during several field missions to the Kyrgyz Republic between November 2004 and April 2005, during which participatory consultations were held with a range of stakeholders including NGOs, community-based organizations, women’s groups, individual women activists, academics, government officials, and aid provider organizations. Two workshops were also held iv with national participants drawn from the above stakeholder groups to identify key gender and poverty issues and possible entry points for addressing them. Field visits to various rural and mountainous locations in the country provided additional qualitative information. The quantitative data are derived from a variety of sources including the annual national statistics produced by the National Statistics Committee on Women and Men in the Kyrgyz Republic, the Household Budget Survey of 2001, cluster surveys undertaken by UNDP, UNICEF, and UNESCO, and from various World Bank and ADB sources, including sector analyses and relevant project documents. The National Statistics Commission also provided specific data sets on request. Contents Abbreviations...................................................................................................................................viii Executive Summary...........................................................................................................................xi Chapter 1 Gender and Poverty in the Kyrgyz Republic A. Poverty in the Kyrgyz Republic ............................................................................1 B. The Gender Dimensions of Poverty in the Kyrgyz Republic................................4 Chapter 2 National Policies and Programs for Poverty Reduction A. The Comprehensive Development Framework...................................................12 B. The National Poverty Reduction Strategy 2003-2005.........................................13 C. The MDGs: National Formulations and Targets.................................................15 Chapter 3 National Laws, Institutions and Policies Promoting Gender Equality A. International Commitments.................................................................................21 B. Constitution and Legal Framework.....................................................................21 C. Institutions and Policies to Promote Gender Equality.........................................23 Chapter 4 Gender Dimensions of Economic Development Growth A. Gender Dimensions of the Formal Labor Market ...............................................27 B. The Gender Dimensions of the Informal Sector..................................................30 C. Women’s Entrepreneurship and Credit ...............................................................31 D. The Gender Dimensions of the Rural Economy..................................................33 E. Social Protection Programs .................................................................................38 Chapter 5 Gender Dimensions of Human Development A. Gender Issues in Education .................................................................................41 B. Gender Issues in Health.......................................................................................46 Chapter 6 Gender, Political, and Civil Society A. Gender and Governance Issues ...........................................................................55 B. Civil Society Organizations Addressing Gender Issues......................................58 C. Contributions of Other Stakeholders...................................................................59 Chapter 7 Further Gender Equality Concerns A. Temporary/Illegal Migration...............................................................................61 B. Trafficking...........................................................................................................63 C. (Re)Emergent Traditions and Practices...............................................................65 D. Gender and the Environment...............................................................................68 vi Chapter 8 Mainstreaming Gender into Poverty Reduction Strategies-Entry Points and Recommendations A. Addressing the Gender Dimensions of Poverty—Priorities and Entry Points ....71 B. Addressing the Gender Dimensions of Poverty – Recommendations for Government and Development Partners..............................................................73 Chapter 9 Mainstreaming Gender into ADB Operations A. Gender in the Country Strategy and Program .....................................................79 B. General and Sector Recommendations for Gender Mainstreaming in the Country Strategy and Program ..........................................................................................79 C. Health Care, Nutrition, and Population ...............................................................86 References.........................................................................................................................................89 Appendix 1. Gender and the National Poverty Reduction Strategy ...............................................93 Appendix 2. Gender and the Comprehensive Development Framework .......................................95 Appendix 3. The Gender Dimensions of Poverty—Potential Entry Points within the NPRS........96
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