Tackling child and gender-based violence through the performing arts 

Our two projects in Kyrgyzstan are The Magic of Theatre, led by Nurlan Asanbekova (PI) Art Director of the Kyrgyz State Puppet Theatre and Jash Kubat, and a project led by Tajyka Shabdanova (PI) from the Foundation for Tolerance International (FTI). The Magic of Theatre is working through informal (out of school) spaces including an orphanage, and FTI through MAP youth clubs in secondary schools, feeding into formalised workshops at regional and national levels. 

The FTI project works alongside partners including the Sakhna Theater, educational centres and secondary schools. In phase 1 of MAP youth well-being issues were identified by 16 MAP Youth Clubs across 4 regions in Kyrgyzstan, discussed at local levels and presented in 16 policy briefs.

Among issues of concern were lack of access to education for girls, child labour, and violence against children. Now in Phase 2, MAP Youth Clubs from four regions will prioritise 3 key issues to lobby policy makers with.

The MAP Youth Clubs will choose art-based tools (e.g., Forum Theatre, Participatory Video Session, Photo Voice, songs, or traditional artistic practices) to facilitate engagement with identified decision makers, shaping their empathy and will towards addressing the issues identified.

A series of regional discussions will empower young people to contribute towards a national level advocacy event, to be accompanied by policy briefs.  

In Kyrgyzstan, MAP aims to influence national curricula and youth policy, working with a network of Youth Theatre for Peace (YTP) drama clubs to establish child and youth-led forums to inform policy through theatre-based productions.

MAP in Kyrgyzstan focuses on the migrant child and youth population in the new settlements of Bishkek, of which a high proportion are out-of-school and also multi-ethnic communities, including border areas with a high risk of violence with neighbouring
countries like Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

MAP is working with Sakhna Nomadic Theatre and art-based institutions (Artist Group Sahna and Art Institution) to explore the use of cultural forms with a focus on Manas or the epics of Central Asia to improvise solutions to
current issues through the storytelling tradition.

MAP will build on initiatives such as the ChildFriendly Communities programme which covers both rural and urban areas and work with national and regional Departments of Education, local government bodies, secondary schools and out-of-school youth.

Kyrgyzstan is a country located in the mid of Central Asia, it is land of mountains and nomads. Kyrgyzstan became independent in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union. It is home to many different ethnic and tribal groups that co-exist as it borders with China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Population is 6 million people and consists from 80 different ethnic groups. Most of its population lives in rural areas (66%) while a third lives in urban areas (34%). Kyrgyzstan has a young, rapidly expanding population with around 47,5 % of the population is under the age of 25 (2016). In 2010, first the North and then the South was marked with violent conflict that caused 500 deaths, almost 2,000 seriously injured, and some 400,000 displaced, with youth playing a major role. While a high number of young people in a society do not necessarily cause violence, if combined to other factors such as unemployment, marginalisation and political exclusion of parts of the society, criminal and extremist activities, it can bring about instability and conflict.[1]

Image by noviceromano flickr.com

Some factors are structural such as occupational segregation in the labour market between women and men, a patriarchal society, socio-economic inequalities with high levels of rural poverty and insufficient domestic jobs for working-age people. In addition, the Kyrgyzstani education system struggles to include all minority groups. With a North/ South geographical divide, the Uzbek/ Kyrgyzstani distrust is particularly present in Southern oblasts, prompted by rural economic poverty which led to waves of migration towards cities. Alienation of the new groups caused politicians and extremist groups to take advantage of new comers which reinforced tensions between communities and religious groups. Youth particularly in rural areas, have fewer employment opportunities, may lack access to appropriate training or education which also makes them more vulnerable to these groups.

Ethnic tensions are exacerbated by language differences with the requirement of Kyrgyz or Russian language proficiency as State and Official languages for entry into university or for entry into state jobs. While linguistic integration is likely to be the long-term goal of this policy, the short-term result is exclusion of ethnic minorities in higher education or into accessing state jobs. At the same time, situational analysis show that some ethnic minorities deny education of girls based on gender roles. Young people expressed feelings of being excluded from political, economic and social processes, a lack of trust in law enforcement and the legal system, dissatisfaction with the quality of public services and “decision making processes at local, family and even the individual level”.[1]

Kyrgyzstan, image by noviceromano flickr.com

After the regime change in 2010, the government made commendable efforts to develop youth policies (by for instance creating a Ministry of Youth Affairs or creating specific legislation for youth), these initiatives however didn’t fulfil their ambition as they struggled to include the marginalised, uneducated or unemployed youth populations (mostly from rural areas). Currently education is provided in official and state languages (approximately 50 out of 2,200 schools taught in Uzbek). Therefore, there are limited chances for intercultural contact between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz, increasing perceptions of distrust and fear of “the other”.

As a result of a patriarchal society and economic limitations for women, women and girls are particularly affected with nearly 1 in 10 girls are married before the age of 18 in Kyrgyzstan[2].  A large proportion of early marriages in the country happen as a result of bride kidnapping, according to the United Nations Population Fund (2014). Despite, the government’s attempt to address this through legislation, it takes time to change social attitudes that may be considered as traditions for many communities. At the same time the latest research conducted by Foundation for Tolerance International (FTI) shows that community members try to simulate that they are agree with the laws which prohibit “early marriage” but de-facto they do not want to change behavior.

[1] http://www.saferworld.org.uk/resources/view-resource/640-nobody-hasaever-asked-about-young-peoples-opinions

[2] https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/UNICEF_SOWC_2016.pdf, page 51

[1] Mercy Corps & FTI. 2016. “Vulnerable to Manipulation: Interviews with Migrant Youth and Youth Remittance-Recipients in Kyrgyzstan.”

The Foundation for Tolerance International (FTI) has been working on implementing the forum theater methodology, “Drama for Conflict Transformation” in secondary schools in Osh, Chui, Jalal-Abad, Batken, Naryn and Talas regions, since 2010. Drama Clubs were established in all of the above regions with 95% of participants being students and 5% of participants being other young people in the community. These Drama Clubs require young people to attend biweekly after-school classes and to practice exercises on open and constructive dialogue, which leads them to acquire the necessary tools to engage each other as well as adults in discussions about various community issues. Drama clubs put on theater performances based on real issues identified within their community. Common problems are: homelessness amongst children, bullying and racketeering in schools, alcoholism, migration, youth suicide as well as interethnic tensions, cross-border conflicts and fights between students due to diversity of opinions. Various stakeholders are invited to these interactive performances, with special invitations extended to those authority figures that could potentially help resolve the brought up issues on a larger level. If the performance is about bullying and racketeering in school then representatives of the education department, juvenile inspection office, social workers, psychologists, parents, and religious leaders are invited. The audience is involved in identifying the problem situation and in rewriting parts of the story, namely the moments where events could have been changed for the better. The methodology allows the youth to actively participate in the process on par with adults and to work together to find alternative ways of dealing with problems. According to assessments[1], the DCT methodology has a great impact on participants, changing the way they interact with others (including authority figures), and changing their worldview in a positive manner, since they learn to respect the opinions of others. 

[1] Independent Project Assessment Report “Youth Theater for Peace,” conducted in 2011 in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.