8MarchKZ
8MarchKZ is a grassroots feminist human rights initiative in Almaty, Kazakhstan that unites for the purpose of organizing annual feminist and women’s march in Almaty on 8 March. The organizing committee of the initiative includes a diverse group of women human rights defenders, who work to promote and protect women and LGBTIQ+ rights. The first Women’s March in Almaty happened in 2017.
Demonstrations critical of government policies or organised by ethnic and/or LGBTI rights organisations, are often dispersed by police or they are not provided with effective protection as guaranteed by the law. Kyrgyz nationalist movements are particularly aggressive towards those who defend the rights of ethnic minorities, such as Uzbeks, who are the biggest minority in the country. The increased harassment of the LGBTI community and rights defenders comes in the context of a draft law introducing criminal and administrative liability for the “promotion of non-traditional sexual relations in an open or indirect way,” which is still under consideration by the Parliament.
