Gender and nation in post-Soviet Central Asia: from national narratives to women's practices

Abstract

This article introduces a thematic issue consisting of five articles, which analyze the complex interrelations between gender norms and representations and the construction of nationalism in the post-Soviet republics of Central Asia. Drawing from gender and feminist studies, the first section explores how Central Asian nationalisms have promoted hierarchized gender roles to reinforce their legitimacy, noticeably invoking the authority of “tradition.” The second section examines not only how the Soviet period continues to shape contemporary nation-building processes in the region, but also how the latter has been creating new historical references to emancipate them from the Soviet legacy – and from the Soviet policy toward women in particular. The third section examines how gender norms promoted by Central Asian states may affect women in their everyday life and how they may negotiate, refuse, or promote these norms. In the final section, we show how “gender equality” has become a watchword of international organizations' agendas and we analyze the production and implementation of this international agenda setting in a specific national context.

Keywords:

• gender studies
• feminist studies
• nationalism
• Central Asia

Acknowledgements

This special issue follows the organization of a workshop entitled “Gender and Nation in Central Asia” organized by Lucia Direnberger, Anna Jarry-Omarova, and Iman Karzabi, and supported by the Center for Gender and Feminist Studies (CEDREF), the Asia-Pacific Network, and the French Institute for Central Asian Studies (IFEAC). This publication would not be possible without the support of the CEDREF. We are also very thankful to Laëtitia Atlani-Duault for her thoughtful comments and to Allison Cressy for her work as a proofreader.