Our People > Tamila Olzhbaekova

Tamila Olzhbaekova

Journalist

Tamila Olzhabekova is a journalist, award-winning illustrator, and a volunteer, curator and event organizer in the DOSTAR diaspora of Kazakhstan organization.
Prior to working for The Times of Central Asia, she has written for Peter Tv, First Line, Five Corners, Sport.Kz, and numerous other publications. A campaigner for interethnic harmony and the protection of stray animals, she studied at St. Petersburg State University.

Articles

Umai mortgage program

Women Queue for Kazakhstan’s Umai Mortgages Amid Questions Over Affordability

Women gathered outside a branch of Kazakhstan's Otbasy Bank in Almaty's Zhetysu neighborhood early on November 3, hoping to secure mortgages under a program designed to help women buy homes. Some banks drew up waiting lists, which security guards used to control entry, while others argued as the crowd pressed toward the doors. The scene was captured on video and circulated on social media. In Astana, women faced similar difficulties. Among them was Makpal, who moved to the capital in 2022 and has rented an apartment ever since. She told Kursiv that she had saved 6 million tenge ($13,300) toward buying a home, but this was insufficient for a standard Otbasy Bank mortgage, which generally requires applicants to save half the property's value. For women like Makpal, the Umai mortgage program offers another route into homeownership. Yet the rush for limited financing has exposed the difficulties women face in Kazakhstan's housing market, as well as questions about whether the program's terms adequately serve those most in need. In 2025, women in Kazakhstan earned an average of 372,232 tenge ($830) a month, compared with 518,259 tenge ($1,153) for men, according to the National Statistics Bureau. The gender pay gap stood at 28.2%, making it particularly difficult for women to accumulate savings for a down payment or qualify for a mortgage on their own. How Umai Works The Umai program, named after a protector of mothers and children in ancient Turkic mythology, was launched in 2021 by state-owned Otbasy Bank with financing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Between 2021 and 2023, it helped 3,661 women purchase homes before being suspended. Applications reopened in August 2026. Unlike the bank's standard housing savings scheme, which generally requires borrowers to accumulate 50% of a property's value, Umai allows women to buy homes with a minimum down payment of 20% in Almaty and Astana, or 15% elsewhere. The demand has been considerable. Applications for the first round opened on August 31, when 9 billion tenge ($20 million) was allocated. Within seven hours, the bank had received 855 applications and closed registration. By November 3, it had issued 435 mortgages totaling 8.6 billion tenge ($19.1 million). After Otbasy Bank requested additional funding from ADB ahead of schedule, a second round opened on November 3 with 20 billion tenge ($44 million) available. It too closed after seven hours, with 850 applications receiving preliminary approval. Applicants in both rounds reported technical problems and delays. The mortgages can be used to purchase newly built homes, qualifying properties under construction, or apartments on the secondary market in buildings completed no earlier than 2016. The maximum loan is 50 million tenge ($111,000), with an annual interest rate of 14.8%. Including additional borrowing costs, the effective annual rate ranges from 16.3% to 16.8%. Applicants must demonstrate official income for the previous six months and have a positive credit history. Average monthly household income after taxes must not exceed 1.25 million tenge ($2,780). The Cost of Buying a Home Although the initial deposit...

1 day ago

Gas Safety

18 Dead in Suspected Carbon Monoxide Poisonings in Uzbekistan

Eighteen people died in three suspected carbon monoxide poisoning incidents in Uzbekistan between October 25 and November 1, prompting warnings about dangerously modified gas boilers being sold as new. On October 25, seven members of one family died in the village of Chimyon in the Fergana region. On November 1, another five people died in Kokand, including three girls aged seven, three, and one. An initial inspection of the Kokand home found a disconnected exhaust pipe on the gas boiler. In Tashkent, six people were found dead in a house under construction on October 25, and two others were hospitalized in serious condition. The Prosecutor General’s Office said a preliminary investigation found that the basement boiler did not meet safety requirements and the house had been connected to the gas network without the required technical permits. A criminal case was opened. The Fergana Regional Department of Emergency Situations said Vaillant gas boilers decommissioned in Germany had been illegally imported into Uzbekistan, refurbished, and sold as new. It warned that improvised plastic flues can come apart when exposed to heat and allow combustion gases to enter living spaces. Blocking air intakes can cause incomplete combustion, producing carbon monoxide. The gas is colorless and odorless and can cause fatal poisoning while people are asleep. An October 2025 report citing Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations recorded 116 deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning in 2024 and 141 deaths in 29 incidents during the first nine months of 2025. However, an October 2026 account of a ministry press conference put the toll for the same period in 2025 at 59 deaths, again in 29 incidents. It gave a total of 46 deaths in 25 incidents for the first nine months of 2026. The two published figures for 2025 differ by 82 deaths, with neither report explaining the discrepancy. Official accounts have also conflicted over the causes of individual deaths. In December 2024, after a man and three children died in Karshi, gas distributor Hududgazta’minot said carbon monoxide poisoning was unlikely. The Prosecutor General’s Office later confirmed the cause as acute carbon monoxide poisoning, citing forensic examination results. Figures published by Uzbekistan’s then State Committee on Statistics show that 55.4% of the country’s houses and apartments had access to natural gas at the beginning of 2022. Gas and electricity shortages have left households relying on stoves and makeshift heating systems. In neighboring Kazakhstan, more than 170,000 gas and smoke detectors were installed in residential buildings over a three-year period ending in 2022. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations said alerts from the devices had helped save 192 lives. Installations have been funded in part by akimats, Kazakhstan’s local executive authorities, and sponsors. Uzbek authorities recommend installing carbon monoxide detectors. In February 2025, the Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan announced that free detectors were being provided to households on the social protection register, but did not say how many had been installed. Following the deaths in the Fergana region, emergency personnel and gas utility workers began inspecting homes....

2 days ago

Child Labor

Child Labor in Kyrgyzstan: Poverty and Gaps in Enforcement

Dozens of children have been found working at markets in the southern Kyrgyz city of Manas, formerly Jalal-Abad. Police officers and social workers spoke to the children’s parents and guardians and issued warnings, Turmush reported on November 2. Nationwide, 19.6% of children aged 5–17 were involved in child labor in 2023, according to a survey conducted by Kyrgyzstan’s National Statistical Committee with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund. Yet the country had just 28 labor inspectors in 2025. Manas is in the Jalal-Abad region, where the survey found one of the country’s highest rates of child labor, at 24%. The figure was 31% in the mountainous Naryn region and 5% in Bishkek. Child Labor and Family Income Children working in Kyrgyzstan's markets may spend their days selling produce or carrying goods for traders. In rural areas, they help with livestock and crop cultivation, including cotton and tobacco. The United States Department of Labor also documents child labor in construction, garment workshops, cafes, and car washes. The survey found that child labor affected 26% of children in the poorest households, compared with 8% in the wealthiest. Boys were more likely to be involved than girls, at 23% versus 16%. Of the 7,200 households sampled, 6,639 were interviewed. The assessment used age-specific thresholds for time spent working or doing household chores. Hazardous working conditions were measured separately and affected 15% of children. Carrying heavy loads was the most common risk, affecting 9%, while other risks included exposure to extreme temperatures or dust and the use of dangerous machinery. Inspections and Legal Gaps Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Labor, Social Security, and Migration reported in June 2025 that 50 cases involving children in the worst forms of child labor had been recorded in the first three months of that year. This category includes hazardous work as well as exploitation involving forced labor or trafficking. According to inspection figures published by the ministry in February 2026, labor inspectors conducted 1,173 workplace inspections in 2025, identifying 1,885 violations of labor legislation. The ministry did not specify how many involved child labor. The U.S. Department of Labor's 2024 report recommended increasing staffing to 144 inspectors to cover a labor force of approximately 2.9 million people. Using that workforce estimate, the 2025 staffing level amounts to roughly one inspector for every 100,000 workers. The inspectorate's work was restricted for several years by a moratorium on business inspections. The U.S. report said the moratorium was repealed in February 2025, allowing unannounced inspections to resume. However, a new moratorium was introduced in March 2026 and runs through December 31, with exceptions including inspections prompted by complaints. The Labor Code sets the general minimum employment age at 16, with exceptions for younger adolescents. But the U.S. report found that its minimum-age protections did not extend to children working without formal employment contracts. This gap is particularly relevant to family businesses and agriculture, where formal employment relationships are often absent. International Commitments Kyrgyzstan has benefited since 2016 from the European Union's Generalised...

3 days ago

Household spending

Food Spending in Kazakhstan Tops Half of Consumer Budgets

Kazakhstan, Central Asia's largest economy, ranks among the ten countries with the highest shares of consumer spending devoted to food in an international comparison. National figures show that food purchases continue to consume more than half of household consumer budgets despite rising cash incomes. According to international statistics from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), residents of Kazakhstan spent approximately 42% of their consumer budgets on food in 2025. The USDA measure covers food and nonalcoholic beverages purchased for consumption at home, excluding restaurant meals, alcohol, and tobacco. Higher shares were recorded in Nigeria, Myanmar, and Laos, as well as neighboring Uzbekistan. By comparison, food accounted for roughly a quarter of consumer spending in Russia and 6.4% in the U.S. Investment company Halyk Finance noted in a June 2025 analysis that Kazakhstan ranked sixth in the USDA comparison for 2023. Kazakhstan's Bureau of National Statistics uses a different food category, which also includes alcohol and tobacco. In the first quarter of 2026, this category accounted for 48.6% of household cash expenditures and approximately 54% of consumer spending. Consumer spending covers purchases of goods and services, while total cash expenditures also include debt repayments, taxes, and transfers to other households. Nonfood goods represented 19.9% of cash expenditures, services 21.7%, and another 7.6% went toward repaying loans and other debts. Halyk Finance found that this national food category had accounted for more than half of household cash expenditures for five consecutive years by early 2025. Since January 2026, however, the bureau has classified spending at cafes and restaurants as services rather than food expenditures. A decline in the reported food share compared with previous years therefore cannot automatically be interpreted as an improvement in living standards. The first-quarter share varied sharply by region, reaching 57.5% in the Zhetysu region, 56% in the Mangystau region, and 54.7% in the East Kazakhstan region. The figure was 41.2% in the capital, Astana, and 47.7% in Almaty. These differences reflect household incomes, food prices, the cost of services, and consumption patterns. Annual spending on food and nonalcoholic beverages in Kazakhstan averaged $1,292 per person in 2025, an increase of 13.9% from the previous year. Meat and meat products accounted for the largest share of the food budget in the second quarter of 2026. The bureau's household spending figures show that an average household spent 61,248 tenge, approximately $135, per month on them, about one-third of its food and nonalcoholic beverage expenditures. Bread and cereals accounted for about 14%, while dairy products represented approximately 12.6%. In the first quarter of 2026, average per capita cash income was 399,819 tenge, approximately $880 over three months, or about $294 per month. In local currency, the figure rose 12.9% year over year, but this was a nominal increase that did not account for inflation. In September, annual inflation was 9.3%, while food prices rose 8.5% year over year. For lower-income households, even moderate increases in the prices of basic groceries can significantly reduce the amount available for other needs....

4 days ago

Nature Reserve

Kazakhstan Tree Planting Drive Faces Wildfires and Low Survival Rates

In late October, as firefighters battled forest fires in three regions of Kazakhstan, authorities announced a 300 million tenge (approximately $660,000) project, funded by state-owned Samruk-Kazyna, to restore pine forests in the Semey Ormany nature reserve in the country's east. The project involves planting three million pine seedlings across 762 hectares. Three years earlier, a wildfire swept through approximately 60,000 hectares of the reserve. Fourteen forestry workers died, while authorities also counted a local tractor driver who went to help fight the blaze as a 15th victim. Experts estimate that the wider ecosystem could take at least 70 years to recover. Such losses are particularly severe for Kazakhstan, where forests cover only about 5% of the country's territory. Kazakhstan is now in the sixth year of a program to plant two billion trees. By the end of 2025, authorities had reported approximately 1.6 billion plantings and seedings, although a later government report put the figure at 1.7 billion. In some years, most seedlings have failed to survive. What Counts Toward Two Billion Trees? The program was launched in 2020, with planting originally scheduled for completion by 2025. The deadline was subsequently extended to 2027. Ecology Minister Yerlan Nysanbayev attributed the delay to insufficient funding and a shortage of equipment and resources. In July 2025, the Ministry of Ecology reported that approximately 743 million were seedlings and another 640 million were seeds sown directly into the ground. Government statistics therefore include both planting and seeding, although the success of the latter depends on germination rates. Much of the work is taking place on the dried seabed of the Aral Sea. Once one of the world's largest lakes, the Aral Sea shrank dramatically after water was diverted from its feeder rivers for irrigation, causing an environmental disaster. Its exposed seabed became a source of salt-laden dust carried by winds far beyond the Aral Sea region, which spans parts of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. To stabilize the sands, workers plant saxaul, a desert tree or shrub with an extensive root system. Between 2021 and 2025, forest reclamation work covered approximately 1.1 million hectares of the former seabed, using both seedlings and seeds. Saxaul planting helps reduce dust storms, but it serves a different ecological purpose from restoring conventional forests. The two-billion-tree target therefore combines activities designed to address different environmental problems. Why Seedlings Fail to Survive According to the Ministry of Ecology, the survival rate of planted trees was 45.3% in 2021, 35.1% in 2022, and 31.2% in 2023. It rose to 50.5% in 2024. Before the program began, the rate had been approximately 54%. In western and southern Kazakhstan, young plants suffer from drought and high temperatures. Conditions are more favorable in the north and east, where survival rates can reach 70%. At Semey Ormany, the target survival rate for planted pine seedlings is 70% to 90%. Problems also arise from the way planting campaigns are organized. In October 2024, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov accused regional administrations of inflating greening figures and concealing...

5 days ago

school violence

School Bullying in Kazakhstan: Prosecutors Propose New Deputies to Protect Students from Violence

In schools across Kazakhstan’s Zhambyl region, children told visiting inspectors about beatings, extortion, and threats. Some described incidents involving brass knuckles and stun guns. But reports from those same schools recorded no bullying. The scale of the problem was exposed in October 2025, when Kazakhstan’s commissioner for children’s rights, Dinara Zakiyeva, published the findings of inspections across the region. An interagency team identified more than 200 cases of bullying and extortion in the Baizak and Zhambyl districts alone. During the first nine months of that year, 14 suicides involving minors were recorded in the region. Prosecutors have introduced the position of deputy principal for legal affairs at 190 schools in the region. They say the initiative has helped reduce crime involving minors. The Prosecutor General’s Office now wants to extend it nationwide. But the proposal raises a question about how schools handle violence. Children do not always trust adults, teachers often prefer to resolve conflicts themselves, and school administrators may see public disclosure as a threat to their institutions’ reputations. Why Bullying Goes Unreported In November 2024, regional prosecutor Nurgalym Abdirov reported that recorded offenses counted against schools in performance rankings, giving administrators an incentive to conceal incidents. Following intervention by prosecutors, this indicator was removed from the evaluation system. But changing reporting criteria proved easier than changing school practices. In the fall of 2025, inspections again uncovered violence that children had disclosed only after outside specialists intervened. Similar incidents have been uncovered in other regions. In the Atyrau region, five school principals were held accountable for concealing beatings and other unlawful acts committed by older students. Kazakhstan introduced a legal definition of bullying in 2022, and administrative liability for bullying took effect in 2024. In 2025, authorities registered 438 administrative cases and held 272 people accountable. By October 22, 2026, authorities had received more than 2,000 reports of bullying that year. A study published in 2013 by the United Nations Children’s Fund found that 66% of children surveyed had witnessed, experienced, or perpetrated school violence or discrimination during the preceding year. The 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment found that 12% of students in Kazakhstan did not feel safe in their classrooms, while 14% felt unsafe in school hallways, cafeterias, and restrooms. Both figures exceeded the averages for countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The gap between official reports and children’s experiences was also evident during an independent evaluation of the DosbolLike anti-bullying program, introduced in all schools and colleges across the country in September 2025. The findings, reported in August 2026, showed that students often denied that bullying occurred when completing questionnaires but described harassment during group discussions. Some said teachers or psychologists had asked them to redo their questionnaires. Researchers also examined whom children were willing to trust with reports of violence. Nearly 90% of respondents named their homeroom teacher, 55.3% named their parents, and 18.4% selected the 111 child-protection helpline. None of the students surveyed on this question selected the police. One...

1 week ago

Fashion Education

Uzbekistan to Open Tashkent International Academy of Fashion

Uzbekistan plans to open a fashion academy in Tashkent to help local clothing manufacturers develop their own brands and sell their products abroad. The academy will take over the premises of the Korean-Uzbek Textile Technopark, which is closing. The new state-run institution, officially called the Tashkent International Academy of Fashion, was established by a presidential resolution signed on October 16. It will build on an existing joint program developed by the Tashkent Institute of Textile and Light Industry and the Paris-based Académie Internationale de Coupe de Paris. Students already enrolled in the program will continue their studies at the new institution. The academy will offer bachelor's and master's degrees in fashion design and related subjects. It also plans to develop joint programs with universities in Europe and Turkey. International students will be eligible for admission. Classes are scheduled to begin in the 2026–27 academic year. Students will be able to complete internships at factories, and from the following academic year, manufacturers will be able to request training programs tailored to their needs. Under this system, students will spend at least 30% of their study time at the academy and the remainder gaining practical experience in factories. The academy will also design clothing for government agencies. Uzbekistan has long manufactured clothing for international clients, but its own fashion brands remain relatively unknown outside the country. The academy aims to help change this by training people who can design clothing collections and manage their production. The textile industry remains one of Uzbekistan's major export sectors. In 2025, the country exported $2.6 billion worth of textile products. Exports reached $2.1 billion in the first eight months of 2026, an increase of 26.9% over the same period in 2025. Finished textile products accounted for 51% of those exports. For years, an international boycott of Uzbek cotton over forced labor hindered the country's textile exports to Western markets. In 2022, the Cotton Campaign coalition lifted the boycott following independent monitoring that found no systematic state-imposed forced labor during the 2021 cotton harvest. The decision opened new opportunities for manufacturers to work with international companies. The regional Next Designer Award competition receives hundreds of applications each season. In August 2026, its final was held in Tashkent for the first time, having previously taken place in Almaty. According to project director Bauyrzhan Shadibekov, young designers often struggle to attract investment and find buyers for their collections. Limited access to professional training also makes it difficult for talented designers to turn their work into successful businesses, he said. Some Uzbek designers have already begun building their own brands. One example is OZBE, which incorporates traditional ornaments and cultural symbols into contemporary streetwear. It remains unclear how many manufacturers will participate in the academy's training programs.

1 week ago

Electric Vehicles

Kyrgyzstan’s BARS Electric Vehicle Plant Opening Delayed

Kyrgyzstan’s BARS electric vehicle assembly plant has missed its planned September opening, with production now expected to begin in late 2026 or spring 2027. In August, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce reported that construction was 75% complete and the plant would begin production by the end of September. However, speaking to residents of Tash-Kumyr and Kara-Kul on October 23, President Sadyr Japarov said the factory might not open until March or April 2027. The plant, covering a 15-hectare site, is designed to produce up to 10,000 vehicles annually, including passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and special-purpose vehicles. Production will initially rely on imported components, with plans to manufacture more parts locally later. The facility could employ around 100 people. According to the ministry, the project is privately financed, while the government has provided the land. The vehicles are intended for domestic sale and export to other Central Asian countries and markets in the Eurasian Economic Union. Japarov’s announcement came during a discussion about replacing city buses that had been in service for 20 to 30 years. He said Kyrgyzstan would develop a program to gradually replace older gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles with electric ones, including government vehicles, over the next 15 to 20 years. At the beginning of 2026, Kyrgyzstan had 15,278 registered electric vehicles, accounting for 0.8% of its 1.91 million vehicles. By September 1, the number had risen to 30,221, according to figures provided by the country’s vehicle registration authorities. The BARS plant’s planned annual production capacity is equivalent to roughly one-third of that total. Since 2020, Kyrgyzstan has encouraged electric vehicle imports through customs incentives. In 2025, the duty-free import quota was 10,000 vehicles. For 2026, an initial allocation of 15,000 vehicles was increased to 25,000 in August. The quota was exhausted by the end of September. Imports of electric vehicles subsequently became subject to a customs duty of 15% of their customs value, while the value-added tax exemption for eligible electric vehicles less than five years old remained in place. The number of vehicles imported under the quota cannot be directly compared with the number of registered vehicles. The quota also covers certain hybrids, and customs figures do not establish how many imported vehicles ultimately remain in Kyrgyzstan. In September, the State Customs Service identified five electric vehicles that had been transferred to Russian citizens without payment of the required duties and charges. These cases do not provide sufficient evidence to assess the scale of re-exports.

2 weeks ago

Labor Migration

New Tajikistan Migration Law Aims to Improve Overseas Recruitment

Tajikistan has adopted a new migration law that introduces a system for rating foreign employers and provides for assistance to citizens returning from work abroad. The legislation also seeks to make it easier for Tajik citizens to find jobs overseas through official recruitment channels. President Emomali Rahmon signed the law on October 21, and the full text was published on October 23 by the parliamentary newspaper Sadoi Mardum. It replaces legislation dating back to 1999. According to the World Bank, approximately one-quarter of Tajikistan's labor force works outside the country. Between 2022 and 2025, migrant remittances averaged nearly half of the country's gross domestic product. Russia remains the main destination for labor migration. What the New Law Changes Under the new law, Tajikistan's migration authorities will establish a register of foreign employers, with ratings based on their treatment of workers, including wages and working conditions. Migrants will be able to submit complaints, which will be considered when employers are assessed. The authorities will also have the power to restrict cooperation with companies that violate workers' rights. The legislation also provides for online platforms where migrants can find vacancies and sign employment contracts electronically. Citizens who arrange their own employment abroad, rather than using recruitment agencies, are entitled to free advice from migration officials about vacancies and working conditions in their destination country. Another provision requires the authorities to set quotas for workers going to different countries and determine how the system will operate. The law also establishes a unified information system to improve migration records and data exchange between government agencies. Many of these measures focus on organized recruitment, which currently accounts for only a small proportion of Tajikistan's labor migration. In 2025, a total of 35,747 Tajik citizens found jobs abroad through 30 licensed organizations, including more than 31,000 in Russia. According to official figures from Dushanbe, more than 702,000 people left the country to work abroad that year. Although the figures are not directly comparable, placements through licensed agencies amounted to only around 5% of reported departures. Russia and the Search for Alternatives Following the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall near Moscow in March 2024, Russian authorities tightened migration controls. A register of foreign nationals without legal grounds to remain in Russia has been in operation since February 2025. Those listed face restrictions on financial transactions and property registration. In July 2026, Tajikistan's Deputy Minister of Labor, Migration, and Employment of the Population Sharif Norzoda reported that approximately 160,000 Tajik citizens were on the register, including about 25,000 minors. During discussions of the new legislation, Labor Minister Soleha Kholmahmadzoda stressed the need to expand the range of countries where Tajik citizens can find work. Dushanbe is holding talks on employment opportunities in Kazakhstan, the Gulf states, South Korea, Japan, and the United Kingdom. However, Russia's labor market remains considerably larger than those of these alternative destinations. Jobs for Returning Migrants The new law provides for assistance to citizens returning home, including vocational training and help finding employment....

2 weeks ago

Harassment Laws

Sexual Harassment in Kazakhstan: Why Are Such Cases Difficult to Track?

A woman who said she was sexually harassed on a bus in Astana decided against going to the police because she feared she would be unable to prove what had happened. Instead, she confronted the man and photographed him. "It wasn't an accidental touch because the bus was crowded. He was groping me," she wrote on Threads. Police identified the 46-year-old man after discovering her post. A court sentenced him to ten days of administrative detention for indecent behavior on public transport. On October 13, a court in the capital had imposed the same penalty on an inDrive driver who had asked a female passenger intimate questions and propositioned her for sex during a ride. The woman also took to Threads to describe the incident. The court classified the driver's actions as petty hooliganism. Why Sexual Harassment is Prosecuted as Petty Hooliganism Kazakhstan does not have a comprehensive legal provision specifically addressing sexual harassment of adults in public places. Depending on the circumstances, law enforcement authorities may apply administrative or criminal law. Article 434 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which covers petty hooliganism, is used in cases of this kind. It applies to offensive harassment of others and other conduct that disturbs public order, including obscene language. The law does not distinguish sexual harassment from other forms of offensive behavior. A first offense is punishable by a fine of 20 times the monthly calculation index (MCI) or 20 to 60 hours of community service. Alternatively, courts can impose five to 15 days of administrative detention. The MCI is a government-set unit used to calculate fines and certain other payments. In 2026, it stands at 4,325 tenge, making a fine of 20 MCI equal to 86,500 tenge, or approximately $190. In August 2023, an Almaty moped rider was held administratively liable under the petty hooliganism provision after slapping a woman he did not know on the buttocks. Because these incidents are recorded alongside other public order violations, official statistics do not show how many cases specifically involve unwanted sexual conduct. Criminal law provides more serious penalties for certain forms of sexual coercion. Article 123 of the Criminal Code addresses coercion into sexual acts through blackmail or threats against property. It also covers exploitation of a victim's financial or other dependence. It does not cover every instance of unwanted touching or verbal sexual harassment. In April 2024, Kazakhstan amended legislation protecting women and children, including provisions establishing criminal liability for sexual harassment of children under 16. The amendments did not create an equivalent standalone offense covering all forms of sexual harassment of adults in public places. Workplace Sexual Harassment Legislation Is Being Developed The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population has developed amendments that would introduce a definition of workplace sexual harassment into national labor legislation for the first time. The proposals would establish employers' responsibilities for preventing such conduct and create legal grounds for dismissing offenders. However, they would not establish a separate criminal or administrative penalty...

2 weeks ago

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