Kazakhstan: feminist organization's activity disrupted
Event- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Event Description
On 9 October 2024, representatives of the “Kazakhstan Parents Union” attacked an event in Almaty, Kazakhstan, of one of the leading Kazakhstani feminist and LGBTI initiatives, “Feminita”, in an attempt to disrupt it. Representatives of Feminita called the police on the attackers. Three of the Feminita women human rights defenders ended up traveling to the police precincts, where they filed complaints against the representatives of the “Kazakhstan Parents Union.” Feminita requested that Kazakhstani law enforcement investigate the attack on the basis of petty hooliganism.
The Kazakhstan Feminist Initiative "Feminita" is a grassroots queer-feminist human rights organisation working to protect the rights of women and the most oppressed groups in Kazakhstan (lesbians, bisexuals, queer and trans women, women with disabilities, and women engaged in sex work).
On 9 October 2024, at approximately 11 am, at least four representatives of the “Kazakhstan Parents Union” attempted to disrupt Feminita’s Lesbian Kurultai by showing up at the venue and attempting to access the event’s grounds. The women, three of whom Feminita representatives were able to identify, shouted offensive comments at the women human rights defenders, banged on the door of the event venue, and filmed the participants and organizers from Feminita without their consent. Women human rights defenders from Feminita reported the attack to the police. After six police officers arrived on the site of the Lesbian Kurutai, they failed to deescalate the situation and decided to bring the women human rights defenders Gulzada Serzhan, Zhanar Sekerbayeva and Aktogyn Kairatova to the Almalinkii District Police Precinct in Almaty. At the precinct, all three women human rights defenders filed a complaint against the attackers, asking the police to investigate them for petty hooliganism under Article 434 of the Code of Administrative Offences of Kazakhstan. The police officers who remained on the location of the Kurultai refused to let the remaining participants out of the venue, and photographed their ID documents without explaining their reason for doing so. At the end of the day, all the participants were permitted to leave the venue.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats
- Raid
- Vilification
- Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly
- Freedom of expression
- Offline
- Right to healthy and safe environment
- Right to privacy
- Right to protect reputation
- HRD
- NGO
- NGO staff
- SOGI rights defender
- WHRD
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Non-state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 43.64814724012349
Longitude: 76.86447665459855
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 9 October 2024, an event held by Kazakh feminist and LGBTIQ+ organization "Feminita" was disrupted by representatives of the "Kazakhstan Parents Union" who shouted offensive comments at members of the organization, banged on the doors, and filmed the organization's members without their consent in in Almaty, Kazakhstan.