These videos highlight the importance of men’s and women’s roles and responsibilities in the family. We believe that these materials will help increase men’s and women’s responsibility for children, positive atmosphere in the family and harmony among family members.
These videos were produced in cooperation with Yntymak TV and Radio Company with the financial support of the Soros-Kyrgyzstan Foundation within the framework of the project titled “Providing psychological and legal assistance to vulnerable women” implemented by the Crisis Center “Ak-Jurok”. The views expressed in the video do not necessarily reflect the views of the Soros-Kyrgyzstan Foundation.
The most important thing now is to follow sanitary and hygienic regulations, not to panic and take care of yourself and others. Every family should adhere to these regulations. If you have any symptoms, you should contact a doctor without leaving home. We can stop the pandemic if every citizen follows all the rules. These videos aim at raising public awareness of the Covid-19 pandemic and reduce domestic violence.
The videos in the Kyrgyz language were produced in November 2020 in collaboration with Yntymak Television and Radio Company as part of the project titled “Women’s and Children’s Happiness is Family’s Well-Being” implemented by the Ak-Jurok Crisis Center and funded by the U.S. Democratic Commission. The suggestions and opinions expressed in this document reflect only the views of the authors. They may not reflect the views of the U.S. Democratic Commission.
Our founder Darikan Asilbekova recorded a podcast in Kyrgyz for RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty (locally known as Azattyk) about how she spent 73 days in quarantine during the Covid-19 pandemic with women at the Ak-Jurok shelter. You can listen to the podcast below or on the website of Azattyk.
Shortly about the crisis center Ak-Jurok
The Ak-Jurok (Ak jurok in Kyrgyz means a “pure heart”) crisis center was founded in 2002 by Darikan Asilbekova in Osh, Kyrgyzstan. For 18 years now, the crisis center has been helping women and children to overcome the difficult situations in which they find themselves by providing them with psychological, legal, social and moral support.
Over the entire period of our work, 19,706 people—most of them women—have received support from the crisis center. Every year more and more people seek help from the crisis center. For instance, if in 2013, 709 sought our help, in 2019 increased by almost 53% and constitutes 1084 people. To illustrate, here is a list that shows how the number of people who sought our help has increased over the past seven years: 2019—1084 people; 2018—987 people; 2017—896 people; 2016—809 people; 2015—743 people; 2014—718 people; 2013—708 people.
People come to us with different questions and problems. For example, some people come to us for help to formalize documents for their children or to receive state benefits or alimony in case of divorce. Some come for psychological counseling, and some come for social and moral support. Since 2009 the crisis center has been running a shelter, which provides women and children who have nowhere to go with temporary accommodation and food for 12-18 days. During their stay at the shelter, our professional team does its best to provide them with the necessary assistance and solve their questions and problems, whether they are of legal, psychological or social nature.
You can learn more about our work on our website or on our Facebook page.
Video about domestic violence against women in Osh and Osh oblast
This video is a journalistic investigation on the topic “The increased incidence of suicide in Osh as a result of domestic violence against women” within the framework of Women’s Peace banks program. The investigation was done by the television and radio company NTS.
In it, Darikan Asilbekova the director of the Ak-Jurok crisis centre says that government bodies often send women who come to them for help to the crisis center and that they report to the government on gender issues with the data of the crisis centre.
The material was published on 29 August 2016; the author is Gulzhan Altymyshbaeva. You can read the full material in Russian here.