Stories of rural women from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

1. MY PHOTOS, YOUR VOICES
Short stories told by women in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
In June and July 2012
2012
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2. Author – Galina Petriashvili (interviews and photos)
This report was prepared in the framework of the Regional Programme on Labour Migration for Central Asia,
which is being implemented by the International Organisation for Migration, UN Women and the World
Bank with the support of the Government of the United Kingdom. The trip to Kyrgyzstan took place between
26 June and 5 July, with the assistance of the project partner, the Community Development Alliance regional
programme. Women were interviewed who participate in self-help groups supported by UN Women.
In Tajikistan, the interviews were conducted between 5 and 9 July in Khujand, Kanibadam, Isfara and
Istaravshan at the initiative of, and with the support of, the Association of Business Women of Tajikistan,
which conducted a competition for the best women’s business. The interviewees were competition
participants who were recommended by the organisers.
In addition to the texts, the author prepared the visual materials below:
“Kyrgyzstan: women from self-help groups” photo album –
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/117475729452710383171/albums/5768268508422239041
“Tajikistan: women in business in Sogd oblast”
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/117475729452710383171/albums/5768286647003898513
Photo albums on Facebook
1) Kyrgyzstan: carpets and pillows
2) Kyrgyzstan! Your landscapes, people and animals
3) Tajikistan, Sogd oblast: women, children, men, donkeys
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3558606799929.2128827.1115527600&type=3
Video materials from Tajikistan which include 10 interviews in Tajik:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd9fdDi_dsE
Coordinator – Nargis Azizova, Programme Specialist, UN Women Regional Office for Eastern Europe
and Central Asia
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3. Contents
• Foreword 3
• STORIES FROM KYRGYZSTAN 5
• STORIES ABOUT THE WORK OF SELF-HELP GROUPS 11
• STORIES FROM TAJIKISTAN 14
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4. FOREWORD
In life, it goes without saying, there are many problems.
Without question they start somewhere. Something didn’t
work out, somebody was cheated, or the stars didn’t align
correctly. For us, post-Soviet people, there is no way thet
could have aligned correctly. Our region is poor. Not
because of something inherent, but as a result of global
injustice. Nothing in this world disappears, and if rivers
and purses are emptying here, they are filling up
somewhere else… Labour migration is a desperate
attempt to escape injustice. Like birds or fish, we migrate
to a place where we hope we will find food. We are ready
to pay a lot for this chance, and we do pay. Too often it’s
not enough. Migration is not just about people who have
decided to leave. It’s not just about empty houses. It’s a
test of strength, both for those who left and for those who stayed behind. On the wider scale, it’s a test of
civilisation: for the whole of humanity.
You are a grain of sand in a huge, not too well-equipped space. A grain of sand facing its own circumstances.
Let’s say without a degree, but with five children. Not very self-confident. Imagine depending on your
husband, not pushing yourself forward. You’re living… And suddenly a moment comes when you see it’s
over: there’s no road forward. You can only count on yourself. Some see this as the very brink; others see it
as a timely moment.
I wrote these short stories in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. It seems to me that these voices are without
exception optimistic. They brilliantly confirm my favourite fable, about the frog that fell into the cream but
refused to drown. These women also thresh with their legs and churn their little pieces of butter. At the same
time they change themselves, becoming more confident, open, smiling!
My optimism is grounded in the fact that these women have proved the most important thing: you have the
capability! In the poorest villages, in the most difficult conditions, you can pull yourself out of poverty. You
can if you really want to. Some knowledge, a bit of credit, a little support – and you will get there yourself!
You will get there, and now you will never become passive and dependent.
Women from self-help groups in Kyrgyzstan, at the Bishkek seminar.
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5. Kyrgyzstan
Stories from Karachach AYDAKEEVA
Novo-Voznesenovka village, Issyk Kul oblast
SONS
My family is one of the few that migration has really helped,
without any complications and victims, thank God. I have three
children – two sons and a daughter. My daughter is finishing
school, while the boys are already grown up: both are migrants.
They work in construction in Tumen oblast, as bricklayers. One of
them has acquired Russian citizenship, and he earns more. The
other gets paid almost half as much, but it’s still not bad. He’s very
popular and has lots of friends. I think that Siberia is a great place.
People live in harsh conditions, they have no time to dream up
problems for themselves, and they help each other. Also, my sons
are good boys – non-drinkers, hard-working and sociable. And
everything’s going well. Though it’s difficult for me without them.
But I’m grateful to God that everything is fine. After all, usually
Karachach Aydakeeva it’s not so rosy. You know how it goes often? They go to earn
money, but then the parents have to sell their last cow, to rescue
them from there. How often it happens! They’ve lost their documents, got into a fight, been cheated…
Recently two young men were brought back to our village from Russia. One was 20 and the other 22. They
hanged themselves. Nobody knows how it happened. Our diaspora brought them back, at their own expense.
At least their parents didn’t have to pay for it. Such stories chill the souls of any mothers. Especially those
whose children are working there. Lord, save and protect them.
BACK TO THE FUTURE?
We have new mosques around here: lots and lots of them. They’re good for just one reason: men have started
drinking less. If earlier 70 per cent were heavy drinkers, now it is 30-40 per cent. What the wives didn’t
manage, the mullah achieved: some are
off the wagon. But at the same time, that
same mullah advises women to cover
their heads with scarves. But how can
you work like that?! In a scarf? It’s
impossible to do all the work that
burdens us every day dressed like that …
And I think that if God gave you a face,
why should you hide it? Why? This isn’t
Iraq, or Pakistan. Life should improve,
get easier, not more difficult. Why
should we go in a direction which won’t
make life better?! Or the mullah says that
women should sit at home. Very well.
But who will earn money? Work on the
fields? It’s pretty strange.
I often think about our traditions as well.
Many people go away as migrants to Kayirma village, at the rural health point
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6. earn money for celebrations. Our tradition is to celebrate weddings and other events on a massive scale. Two,
three or four hundred people might be fed… You need such a lot of money for that. And so people go to earn
money, take huge loans, just so as not to be “worse than the neighbours”. Relatives take turns to chip in,
because one family can’t carry such a celebration. I have three brothers and three sisters, for example. So we
are always chipping in. But why? To put in so much money, earned with such difficulty, for one event!! I
think it’s stupid. But everyone does it. Including me…
VALERIAN
Before we created our self-help groups, we had been studying quite a long time. At first we didn’t really
understand why we needed them. Life was difficult enough as it was, it took so much effort just to stay afloat.
And now on top of that we needed to go somewhere, listen to something. But soon we started enjoying it. At
least we were going somewhere! We were talking, finding out new things. Convincing ourselves over and
over again that it was not just our lives that were difficult – there are lots of people around who are struggling
even more. One wants to help them. And by helping
others you help yourselves – it’s in your favour because
you grow stronger.
Under the programme terms we were supposed to pay for
seeds from the first harvest, and put the money into a
common pot. That’s how our village funds started. We
thought up names for them, to differentiate them from
each other. Ours, for Novo-Voznesenovka, is called
Iygilik. There are 55 women and five men contributing to
it. There are men in almost all the groups. From the very
beginning we discussed whether to have them in our
team. There were differing opinions, but in the end we
decided that we couldn’t keep out people who wanted to
cooperate with us and could be helpful for the group.
Landscape around Kayirma We all put an equivalent sum to the cost of seeds into our
funds. This was our initial small capital. Gradually we
added contributions to it, little by little, 100 som at a time,
a little more than $2. But in our village, that’s money as well. Now we have about 47,000 som in our fund
(about $1000). We have decided to launch a new product: plant a field with valerian. Before coming to the
decision, we developed a business case, and consulted specialists. If everything works out, we hope that our
fund will grow substantially. It’s clean around here, and pharmacists should like our valerian.
We’ve already had one good project. In 2010 we won a UN Women competition and received a grant of
180,000 som (a little over $3,500). We asked for the money to create a village information centre. Previously
we could only get news at the shop. So we built our information centre. Now we have installed six radio
loudspeakers in the village. They broadcast village news, announcements and music. During the breaks we
put on the ordinary radio. And it’s become more cheerful somehow! During that project we created a photo
salon in which we put a photocopier. The income from those services is also put in the common pot – the
village fund. We have big plans for the future. We want to open a vegetable shop, and then a little cannery.
The new seeds and technology have given us an unprecedented harvest. We now have lots of vegetables and
are learning how to sell them properly.
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7. Stories from Roza IMANKULOVA
Chong Alysh village, Talas oblast
THE CHILDREN OF A MIGRANT WOMAN
There are six people in my group, including one young man. He is
19 years old and has a four year old sister. Their mum left to earn
money when the girl was very small. She left her daughter with her
brother’s family and went off. She had been teaching French at the
school: she was educated but fate was unkind to her. The first time
she got married, her husband ran away. Her second husband turned
out to have psychiatric problems, it was just terrible. And then she
herself ran away from him, to Moscow. She left and disappeared.
The children are growing up but she’s nowhere to be seen. And it’s
already three years now. The uncle is getting stressed: he has his
own family, his own worries. But these children have no home, no
land – nothing. And no mum. They don’t need any money from her
anymore: they just want to know if she’s alive. Last year Zhdi
Roza Imankulova Menya 1 came here and filmed a segment, that’s how the children
made an announcement about their mother. They had great
expectations, but nothing came of it: she didn’t get in touch. There were rumours that she was probably
drinking. But I think that she just didn’t manage to make money, and she’s embarrassed to travel with empty
hands, so she hasn’t been back…
Whatever it is, it’s such a shame for the children. I started
going to various offices and people asking for help. The village
administration, the local deputies’ committee: about land.
Because we’re fed by the land. If you don’t have any, you just
lie down and die of hunger. I walked and walked, and they gave
the two of them 0.8 hectares. I was so glad! As were our entire
group. His uncle helped him sow it: yes, we all helped.
I went further – to the village council – and “won” for them a
2,500 som benefit (about $60). After all, how does it work
here? Migrants take credit and leave. The main thing for them
is to get money for the road, at any cost. They don’t think about
the future; they just hope to get rich and pay it back. But they
don’t get rich, and the banks take away their homes. And
people become homeless. How many has it happened to, who is
counting them? Children are left with elderly people, and they
don’t have the energy to look after them, so they live like street
children. The children of migrants don’t get benefits, they
refuse to give them to them, and the children have no one to go
to about it. Even though the benefits are small (150-200 som, or
$3-5), at least you can buy bread.
1
Zhdi Menya [Wait for Me] is a television programme broadcast in Russian language on a Russian Federation channel
and widely watched in the post-Soviet area. It tells the stories of people finding each other again after being separated
for many years. The programme facilitates this giving people the chance to make appeals on the air.
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8. It’s such a shame for them! The children of this
teacher. We tried to help them. And it worked! There’s
somewhere to build a house, a garden, a field, an
allowance for the girl: we managed to get all this from
the council. And the boy is now a student – he studies
part-time at the polytechnic institute. He is a good boy:
I hope we have set his destiny straight. And we won’t
abandon the girl either. I’ve been elected a village
councillor – I will probably have more chances to help
others as well now.
HOW WE WORK
In my youth I studied to be a shop assistant and
worked in a canteen, a shop, and the district
consumers’ society. I was always busy, with lots of
work and enough money. I have eight children – four
A field in Chuy oblast girls and four boys. Now one is working in Moscow:
his wife lives in Talas and works as a teacher. Another
son graduated from the law faculty at university, and he is also married. The third has finished school and has
been accepted to medical academy. One daughter lives in Bishkek, and is looking after children: her husband
also has a university diploma. They all are educated. I managed to get my children educated despite the fact
that my husband has been disabled since he was involved in an accident 22 years ago. All that time I’ve been
counting on myself, and I’ve done fine.
How, they ask, did I have my children educated? Look. We have three hectares of land, and grow beans there.
Of course, there are lots of expenses. The state tax on fields is 400 som for every hectare, so a total of 1,200
som (about $25). We also pay for irrigation water. And hire a tractor. And pay labourers when we can’t
manage things ourselves. We try to do it all ourselves of course. The children come back and work. When the
harvest is collected, merchants from Turkey take it straight away. Our beans are good and easy to sell. We
earn up to 200,000 som for the harvest, more than $4,000. It takes a lot of work, but everyone knows that is
the only way to save us. Labour. There are also the gardens – 0.2 hectares under apple trees. We have five
cows, and sell milk for 15 som ($0.30) per litre. That’s how we live. We can’t complain.
Stories from Sajira IZANALIEVA
Ogombaeva village, Talas oblast
SEEDLINGS
What does our group need its capital for? That
is, its money. Well, you never know. For
example, calling in specialists to teach us how
to properly plant and cultivate. After all, until
you attain your own wisdom – and they are
specialists – you don’t need to worry, but just
ask and receive answers. New knowledge
excites me greatly, and it draws me to test it out
quickly. But when I do what I was taught, I
always want to step back a little, do it my own
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Sajira Izanalieva

9. way, and then see what happens. I get a real buzz out of agronomy, and I’ve begun to experiment. I planted
seedlings in three different types of container and waited to see what would happen. And I see, in the plastic
cups, the seeds grow not bad, but quite boring. In the wooden boxes they do a bit better, but nothing special,
about average. But in the foam boxes they’re doing just great! Alright, let’s save the weak shoots. I replanted
them in paper cups and they grew miraculously. We have good seeds, and everyone has a fantastic harvest.
But mine is simply unprecedented! I can feed my family from one bush. I walk tall, and give everyone
advice.
RUSSIAN LANGUAGE
I didn’t know it at all in my youth, and just spoke Kyrgyz. But my
friends knew a lot, and spoke Russian well And then one day I
heard the word “sosed 2”, and I was intrigued to find out what it
meant. ‘What does it mean,’ I asked, ‘this word “sosed”?’ My
friend said so arrogantly: “You don’t even know that?! Then
there’s no point you living on the planet!” It made me feel very
vulnerable, and I always wondered what this so-important word
meant. And then I was already married. One day I asked my
husband: ‘Makhmud, don’t laugh! You’ll answer me honestly,
won’t you?’ He replied ‘Ask away.’ I asked him what “sosed”
meant. He answered me seriously in Kyrgyz: ‘koshuna’. It was
funny.
I have another story about Russian language. My mother-in-law
Kayirma village was a real character. She believed that I didn’t know Russian and
took advantage of it. We were sitting at the table and she was rude
to me in Russian! I’m this and that – she flung so much mud at me, mocked me so badly that my ears wilted.
I didn’t speak Russian, of course, but I understood it! But I kept quiet, didn’t show anything, as if I had no
idea what was going on. My husband turned pale, but also kept quiet, as he didn’t dare stand up to his mother.
And it kept on merrily like that. But our neighbour was Russian. One day she popped by to borrow
something. I forgot about my ploy and said: ‘Mum, Sveta is asking for red thread, do we have any?’ It was
clear that if I understood about the thread, I also could understand her scolding, at least in general. She was
very embarrassed. And then I learned to speak Russian. Life is long.
Story from Jyldyz IBRALIEVA (name
changed, met on the street)
Bishkek
SLAVERY
My son and I are walking here in the square
because we’re in that hospital over there, you
see? It’s very stuffy, with no conditioner, and
not even any water. And on top of that
there’s renovation work going on in there;
it’s noisy and dusty. My son is still small,
he’s four months old. He was crying and
waking the other children in the ward up, so I
came out here to walk with him, at least he
2
“Sosed” is the Russian word for neighbour. Bishkek
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10. can sleep a little in my arms. We’re supposed to get out tomorrow. He had a lung inflammation, and now he
seems better, so we should leave this hospital, this hell, as soon as possible. But when I remember where we
have to go, I don’t even know what is worse.
I live in a building on a square. My husband is in Moscow, working on a building site. He has Russian
citizenship. He’s there, and our son and I are here. My home is a nightmare. My son is so small; he needs
attention, but I have no time at all for him. I just feed him quickly, that’s all. The house is full of people – the
children of my in-laws’ other sons, who are also off earning in Russia. They went with their wives, but left
their children with their grandparents. They say with their grandparents, but in actual fact I have to look after
them. Also lots of guests come from the villages. I am the youngest daughter-in-law: I have to somehow
manage to get everything done. From early morning until late at night. And that wouldn’t be so bad, if it was
just physical work. Under our traditions, we should kow-tow to every male relative: even if he’s a little brat I
shouldn’t say anything. Another nightmare: my father-in-law doesn’t let me go anywhere! I can’t take a step
out of the house, not for a minute! Never mind my female friends: he doesn’t even let me visit my parents!
And he’s always shouting at everyone, scolding everyone, waving his arms around. My mother-in-law is not
a bad woman, but she’s beaten down, worn out… They want me to be the same.
My husband calls and nips all my complaints in the bud: do what father tells you to do! His father, not mine.
Don’t I have my own father? I lived with my husband in Moscow, and he’s just like his father: he beat me
and humiliated me. Again I don’t know where’s worse – here or there.
You say I should leave… I think I should, yes. My parents would take me back; they are also trying to
persuade me to leave. I probably will. You’ll be surprised, but my husband and I are both graduates. Funny as
it is, we studied at university. But he wants to live in the middle ages. Well, let him stay there.
Yelena MAKEEVA (name changed, met on an aeroplane)
Bishkek
DIVORCE
I’m flying back from the USA, where I spent three months with my friend. My
little head is chock-full of impressions, my camera is full of pictures, and I have
left lots of new friends there. I don’t even know how I will live at home now. The
one magnet is my daughter. And my parents as well: they are golden. The sort,
you know, that are young into their old age and still in love with each other.
Well, my life isn’t like that. While I was in America, I resolved to get divorced.
This is not a life. Even though we’re Russian, local traditions influence us as
well, unquestionably. Although it’s common to women in (almost) every culture:
give, fetch, serve. But I don’t want that any more. I’ve looked at other families,
and now I don’t want things to be how they were, but I want partnership. If there
is care, let it be mutual. I’m not against housework, that’s not the issue. But your
husband should compensate for that in other ways. But in our case I do the dishes
and the earning. Why? Earning, buying him food, taking it home, cooking, and
then doing the dishes as well?!
The rift deepened when he went to work in Yekaterinburg. He worked and
worked, and my daughter and I didn’t get a kopek. He worked for two years and
didn’t earn anything for us. Somehow it didn’t bother him. That his daughter and
I were being provided for by my parents – it didn’t bother him! He even asked
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11. me once why I didn’t go to work myself? That was when I had a one-year-old daughter.
A second rift occurred when rumours reached me that he had a woman there.
And this is the third: when I went away he gave our daughter to the parents. As if he wasn’t capable of
looking after children. Our daughter is five. What is there to cope with? A mature, independent little person!
Even though she’s still an infant. Your child.
And so I decided that I don’t need this anymore. I have started working, like he suggested, and I’ve earned
money. I fully provide for myself and my daughter. I’m still far from 30. I will find someone who will suit
me in every way. Otherwise what’s all this toil for?
========================================================================
STORIES ABOUT THE WORK OF SELF-HELP GROUPS, Kyrgyzstan
Bubumayram Sarieva, Myskal Jumalieva, Zeynep Bermanova, Zuurabubu Mambetalieva, Kaliman Ismailova, Kalicha Stamova
Kayirma village, Chuy oblast
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12. RURAL HEALTH POINT
Listen, we have experienced living! Specifically in the self-help
groups. Before everyone dug their own garden and that was that.
Yes, and the yields were nothing special. With the seeds we
were given last spring, we can at least imagine a real harvest.
Earlier it was just a little at a time.
But our main success is not the garden. The main achievement is
our village hospital. We are sincerely proud of our project. We
decided to do it, and did it! Thanks, of course, to UN Women
for your assistance.
Look how beautiful it is – clean, comfortable, with all the
essentials. To check blood pressure before you had to go to the
district centre. Now Zeynep checks it here, gives people their
Women from this self-help group at work in the garden prescribed injections, dresses cuts if necessary, and vaccinates
children. It took a lot of effort to win for the village a single
salaried Feldscher. 3 Zeynep lives in our village, and has a lot of
experience – it’s good for her and for us. Once a month specialist doctors come here. It makes things so much
easier for the villagers! We don’t need to go anywhere. Even if we’re standing in a queue, it’s still home.
Our little clinic was built on an empty field, with foundations. The construction was financed by the Village
Health Committee, and a UN Women grant bought the furniture and equipment. We chose the builders, and
told them what to do and how to do it. We studied the process, because you need to see everything with your
own eyes. While it was being built, we became
specialists ourselves – about concrete, roofs and
electric wiring. At first the men in our village were
laughing: look, the grannies are building a house!
Whatever next! But as the roof went up they
quietened down and stopped joking. Now they have
been silenced. Here, to compare, there is a building
that was started 10 years ago. It’s full of weeds. And
we went and did it in several months.
And how it’s energised us! I believe in myself! We
now know for sure that we will succeed in what we
take on. We want to start a preserves business. We
have lots of raspberries and various vegetables. We
will process them here.
Zeynep Bermanova, the Feldscher, in her office
3
A Feldscher is a mid-level healthcare professional who provides various medical services, including primary
healthcare, obstetrics and minor surgery in countries of the former Soviet Union, mainly in rural areas
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13. Myskal ЖУМАЛИЕВА
Kayirma village, Chuy oblast
CARPETS
In April I, Bubumayram Sarievea, and another
activist from our village travelled to Istanbul, to a
feminists’ forum, which is regularly hosted by
the Canadian organisation AWID. We were part
of the delegation of Kyrgyzstan. The forum
organised a fair to sell handicrafts brought by the
participants. We had brought things. For three
whole days we sold our wool – carpets, slippers,
bags. We didn’t earn a huge amount, but all the
same contributed to our village fund. On top of
that we were testing ourselves. We are still
thinking about how to get this business going.
The women here have golden fingers – look at
the carpets in all the houses. Probably people
Myskal Жумалиева would love to buy such carpets. We will think
the idea over.
Women from the Kayirma village self-help group display carpets they have made with their own hands
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14. Nuray ISMAYILAKUNOVA
Kulanak village, Naryn oblast
SCARVES
Here in Bishkek it’s so hot. But where we’re
from the rain is cool, if not cold. Fruit hardly
grows, and the climate is not very favourable
for vegetables either. We didn’t plant a lot
before, but after setting up the self-help group
we tried, and it worked out. Of course, much
more work is needed than in other regions –
you need greenhouses and polytunnels… But
nevertheless you get a harvest, and can sell at
much higher prices. However, our group has
another specialisation. In total there are 12 self-
help groups in Naryn oblast - of these 10 are
agricultural and two make scarves. Ours is one
of the two. Do you like our scarves? Silk and
wool. Original, fashionable, and beautiful. In
Нурай Исмайилакунова order to make them we buy silk, wool and dyes.
Then our hands and imaginations take over. In
the group there are 12 women. Sometimes we all work together, while at other times we work in smaller
groups, or sometimes by ourselves. Whatever people are comfortable with. The important thing is that our
product is common: together it’s easier to sell them. We don’t just make scarves, but also other products:
sleeveless woollen pullovers, hats, tea cosies, and slippers. Now we’re wondering where to sell them all. This
is the important question. We can make as many as we need, if only we can sell them.
The population of Kulanak is about 2,000. Earlier we hadn’t heard of migration, everyone sat at home. Then
we saw that southerners had gone off into the world, and we also set off. Both men and women. But we hope
to hold out here. We’re all trying to move ahead with our handicrafts.
Ainura Musaeva, Coordinator for Naryn oblast
and Nuray Isamyilakunova, demonstrating their work
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15. TAJIKISTAN
Story of Ravzatbonu
NEGMATULLOEVA
Director of Real Limited Company
Producer of polyethylene water pipes.
Producer of aluminium electric wires.
Khujand
I am an accountant by training. When
my children were born I went to work
in a bazaar. My mother-in-law sewed
clothes for the circumcision rite, and I
sold them. I started in 1993, almost
20 years ago. My main reason was to
earn enough for the party to celebrate
my oldest son’s circumcision, as I
very much wanted it to be done
properly. Then we saw that the work
was going well, and we were earning
Ravzatbonu Negmatulloeva
steadily. We started to think about
how to build on our success. At that
time, a serial came onto television about Maria Lopez, which was very popular. We saw new models there,
changed the fabrics and began to modify our patterns. We watched how our business took on a new lease of
life! Then we began to make two versions of the boy’s costume: one for the circumcision, and other for the
banquet afterwards. In sum, we tried to think of something new, not stand in one place. Our own little shop
had already opened, and the business was expanding.
When the President announced the Decade of Water, we already had money to start a new business. I bought
second-hand equipment in Tashkent and brought it to Khujand. Of course pipes are not jackets for boys. We
suffered a lot, and I didn’t sleep at night, until everything was set up. At one point my husband was unhappy
because I was staying at the workshop until late at night. But it was necessary to make some sacrifices. In the
end it all worked out. My husband also has his own business – a restaurant. We are a close family, and never
count who brings how much money to the house. We have two sons and a daughter, and need to think about
their future.
When the Decade of Water was announced I immediately understood that I should go into pipes. It’s hot
here, and in the summer you need a lot of water. We didn’t have our own pipes, just imported ones. That’s
why I wanted so much to master this business. We were the first to start and today, I can say, we are
monopolists in Sogd oblast. We need to develop and expand: the market is growing.
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16. Ravzatbonu displays her manufactured electric wires
Her plastic workshop
When the pipe business had matured, I wanted something new again. I decided to open another workshop, to
make electric wires. So I went and did it! I’m looking for consumers not just in Tajikistan but also in other
countries. Our cables are high quality and cheap.
I provide employment: I employ 32 people full time, and another 50 as occasional workers.
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17. Ravzatbonu with her son, who helps her at work
Story of Salima Ismatova
Sewing business
Toilet paper manufacture
Isfara
Salima Ismatova
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18. I completed school in 1978, and then went to technical college, and I worked in the sewing factory for a long
time. When it closed, I was able to buy half the factory and some of the equipment. That was the start of my
business.
We have 15 sewing machines. Of course they’re not new, and I need to think very seriously about
reequipping. But meanwhile we’re sewing the simplest things: duvet covers and everyday clothes.
The sewing workshop
I also have another business – we make toilet paper from waste paper. Recently we were able to buy a
building, and we’ll soon start reconstructing it, and then equipping it. As of yet we’re working with
antiquated, written off equipment which I brought from Tashkent. Our business is finding clients, but we
need to think of the future.
The workshop where waste paper is recycled into toilet paper
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19. Salima with some of the finished product
This building contains Khalima’s office and her sewing workshop
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20. The story of Narzikhon Ortikova
Gold embroidery workshop
Isfara
Narzikhon Ortikova
I’ve been doing this for 15 years now. Firstly it was a kind of hobby in my free time. I tried to make beautiful
things for children. I used to work as a kindergarten teacher. Then the money disappeared, and with it my
service. My husband worked as a driver at the chemicals factory, but our two salaries were not enough to
cover anything. How would we feed the children? We have four of them – two sons and two daughters.
That’s when my hobby came in useful.
Now the workshop feeds us. It is still a family business – my children, daughters-in-law and granddaughters
work there. We make ceremonial clothes for festivals: weddings and circumcisions, ornamental shoes and
skullcaps.
We are a harmonious family. Many of us have artistic talents. My oldest son, for example, went to Russia,
and set up a woodcarving business. He earns well, but he’s coming home because home’s best. My brother is
an artist as well, as are my father and uncle.
But my workshop is our women’s project, as mainly it’s the women of the family who work there. Only my
husband helps a bit – he makes templates for shoes. It’s good for us– we work happily together. And so the
things we make also turn out beautiful.
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21. Nargizkhon’s granddaughters help actively at the workshop
Nargizkhon’s harmonious family
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22. Nargizkhon’s grandson models the clothes for the circumcision ritual
The story of Muyassar Alikulova
Dairy production
Istaravshan
Muyassar Alikulova
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23. We produce sour milk products, curds and cheese. It all sells very well and quickly, because it is of excellent
quality. We even have clients in Dushanbe, and send produce there by plane. Why so far? Because our
products are absolutely natural – from cows that graze in pollution-free areas.
We don’t have problems with the consumers, but we do need to reequip the enterprise. And this requires
money. We’re still using old equipment, which requires a lot of labour… In the future we want to create an
integrated enterprise with its own livestock farms, and milk being processed on the spot.
Sometimes Muyassar’s daughter helps at the workshop
Workshop employee
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24. The production process: treating milk to prepare cheese
The small team of the dairy workshop, with the boss in the centre
Video materials: interviews (in Tajik) with the participating women:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd9fdDi_dsE
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