In Kazakhstan, social tensions between the Soviet legacy and the country’s identity as an independent nation perpetuate deep-seated homophobia.
Despite the decriminalisation of consensual same-sex conduct in 1998, individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and more (LGBT+) continue to face fear and abuse, leading them to conceal their identities (Paletta 2024; Mazorenko and Sorbello 2023; Human Rights Watch 2015). Politically, the rise of global conservative movements and emphasis on traditional values have intensified anti-gender campaigns, framing gender equality as a threat and leading to repressive measures against activists (Kamidola 2021). Following the ‘Bloody January’ unrest in 2022, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has implemented some reforms but continues to use oppressive tactics, leaving core social and economic issues unresolved (Mazorenko and Sorbello 2023). The government’s balance between domestic policies and international reputation was evident when the Constitutional Court dismissed a controversial anti-homosexuality bill in 2015, influenced by global pressures and human rights concerns (Human Rights Watch 2015; Putz 2015).
Furthermore, gender-based violence remains pervasive, driven by weak legal protections, societal stigma, and state inaction. The decriminalisation of domestic violence in 2017 normalised abuse, making it difficult for survivors to seek justice. However, the murder of Saltanat Nukenova by her husband in 2023 sparked activism and led to a legal reform, raising awareness about gender-based violence in the country (UN Women 2024).
Landscape of anti-rollback actors
For this brief, six organisations were analysed in some detail, with additional insights drawn from a broader examination of smaller groups and individuals engaged in countering rollback. Kazakhstan’s women’s rights and LGBT+ rights organisations represent a diverse landscape. In terms of scale, most operate at the national level, with some extending their influence transnationally across Central Asia, particularly in border regions (Assaniyaz 2024; International Centre for Migration Policy Development 2023). Membership is predominantly grass-roots-based, though one organisation operates as an issue-focused activist network (KazFem n.d.). Many organisations face significant challenges to their survival, primarily due to difficulties in legal registration and accessing funding, which hampers availability of data on the nature of their financial support (Human Rights Watch 2019).
These anti-rollback actors address a broad range of issues, including sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), sexuality and reproductive rights, gender-based violence, and women’s public participation. Although many organisations tackle multiple themes, genderbased violence remains the most prominent area of focus, followed by sexuality and reproduction, and SOGI. Their work often incorporates intersectional approaches, particularly emphasising women with disabilities (Paletta 2024) and migrant women, including survivors of human trafficking (Arystanbek 2023). In countering rollback, all these organisations engage in research and advocacy, with some also providing services. Most operate within the civic and digital media spaces, with a few focusing solely on the civic domain (Assaniyaz 2024; Paletta 2024). Their primary aims include exercising existing rights, effecting norm change, and securing formal rights and recognition from the state.
Counter-rollback strategies
The Kazakhstan state’s attitude towards the LGBT+ community and sex workers is largely repressive, with laws and societal norms reflecting conservative values and leading to widespread discrimination and marginalisation (Paletta 2024; Mazorenko and Sorbello 2023; Institute of Development Studies n.d.). Domestic violence is prevalent, but despite existing laws, weak enforcement and cultural norms hinder effective protection for victims (Equality Now 2024). Overall, the state’s approach is punitive and unsupportive, exacerbating the vulnerabilities of LGBT+ people and sex workers. Consequently, antirollback actors focus primarily on gender-based violence as a key area of resistance.
Digital activism and media engagement have emerged as powerful tools in addressing gender-based violence. A recent high-profile femicide case, involving a former government minister, mobilised millions of Kazakhs, both within the country and abroad. The case was widely broadcast, with more than 3.5 million daily viewers (UN Women 2024), and organisations like nemolchi.kz and Batyr Jamal leveraged social media platforms and employed a narrative change strategy to bring the case to court. This resulted in the conviction of the former minister and secured a legal reform on gender-based violence. Social media platforms enabled activists to amplify their voices, creating a digital space for resistance and shifting the discourse on various gender issues (including gender-based violence) from a private issue to a public, political demand for change (Azizi 2023).
Discursive strategies are also prevalent. These involve creating an evidence base and documenting instances of rollback (Mekhdi 2023; USAID Central Asia 2023; Chase the Virus Not People n.d.; feminita n.d.; Stop Violence End Tyranny n.d.), as well as using feminist framing in art and culture (Assaniyaz 2024). Practical strategies include service provision (such as legal and psychological counselling), capacity building for organisations and individuals (Kabatova 2022), and coalition building such as Kazakhstan’s first International Women’s Day (Mekhdi 2023; KazFem n.d.). Notably, the use of legal strategies has been limited; a prominent example is Feminita’s advocacy efforts in Geneva and at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in 2016 (Paletta 2024).
Movement wins often manifest in increased consciousness among the LGBT+ community (Paletta 2024) and sex workers (Chase the Virus Not People n.d.), as well as strengthened transnational collaboration in Central Asia for the rights of transgender and non-binary individuals (Alymkulova et al. 2022). The historic International Women’s Day event on 8 March 2021 – the first such march in Kazakhstan – was a significant win, organised with key feminist organisations (Sorbello 2021). Outcome wins, though less frequent, include policy achievements such as the adoption of Saltanat’s Law, which recriminalised domestic violence in 2024 (Kim 2024), and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations supporting LGBT+ community rights activists (Paletta 2024; Sexual Rights Initiative 2019). There have also been improvements in reporting gender-based violence, especially through tech-based interventions (USAID Central Asia 2023).
Gaps and areas for future research/work
Key gaps in understanding anti-rollback efforts include challenges in tracking the long-term impacts of interventions, the covert nature of state repression, barriers to legal registration for organisations, and reliance on social media instead of official websites, leading to limited data on funding and sustainability of movement impacts. Cultural nuances are often lost in translation. Demonstrating the direct impact of advocacy on policy changes is difficult, necessitating longitudinal studies, improved documentation, and enhanced international collaborations to navigate local socio-political challenges.
Credits
This Country Brief was written by Harshita Kumari. It was supported by the project Rapid Scoping Review – The Nature of Feminist and LGBT+ Movements in a Range of Selected Countries, funded by UK International Development from the UK government. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of IDS or the UK government’s official policies.
This is an Open Access brief distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and source are credited and any modifications or adaptations are indicated.
