Kyrgyzstan News

Ali Saleem is easily everyone’s favorite Pakistani. “My existence on TV discredits the misconception that Pakistan is a country of bearded extremists,” he once said. “I want to show the world that we are just cool, normal people.”

For years, Saleem ran Pakistan’s most popular TV show, in which he dressed up like a woman (Begum Nawazish Ali, a middle-aged widow) and chatted about prominent Pakistanis—celebrities, officials, politicians, everyone. Much like a younger version of Dame Edna Everage, Saleem would adopt this sassy persona and use it to crack jokes and otherwise defuse some of the tension that accompanies Pakistani politics. An open bisexual, Saleem even had fans among Pakistan’s religious elite, who simply made sure to remind him to pray everyday.

Part of the reason I speculate Saleem did not generate much outrage as a TV tranny—his show was eventually canceled for criticizing Pervez Musharraf—is because of Hijras. Kind of thought to be a “third gender,” hijras are most commonly male transvestites: men who portray themselves as women. While many are referred to in English as “eunuchs,” few ever go that far.

In fact, hijras have an ancient tradition in South Asia—even the Kama Sutra mentions them. While is why it is nice to see Pakistan’s Supreme Court stepping in and calling for basic human consideration to the country’s transvestites.

‘They are human beings and nobody has a right to hate them.’ A three-judge bench comprising the chief justice, Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed and Justice Ghulam Rabbani had taken up a petition seeking the establishment of a commission to emancipate effeminate men ostracised by the society for no fault of their’s.

Islamist jurist Dr Mohammad Aslam Khaki, who researched into the conditions of the ignominious merrymakers and discovered them to be the most oppressed and deprived segment of the society that is subjected to humiliation and molestation, had filed the petition for the welfare of the unfortunate and vulnerable people left by the society to live by begging, dancing and prostitution.

The Court deserves every ounce of applause we can muster for such a ruling. Pakistan is a vastly more complex place than we in the U.S. ever give it credit for being. While it has deep challenges and faces serious risks, we should also not lose sight of the fact that Pakistan itself is worth saving as well.

Kyrgyz Children's Group Urges Equal Opportunities In Education
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
BISHKEK -- Kyrgyzstan's League for Children's Rights has kicked off an event two weeks ahead of the new school year demanding equal opportunities for the ...

Hizb ut-Tahrir actively recruits new members in Kyrgyz jails
Interfax-Religion
Bishkek, August 19, Interfax - The Hizb ut-Tahrir organization, which is officially outlawed in Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian countries, has stepped up ...

and more »

Kyrgyzstan's youth take the challenge
Times of Central Asia (subscription)
BISHKEK (TCA) -- With over 2.5 million young people in Kyrgyzstan, increasing emphasis is being placed on supporting ...

and more »

BISHKEK, August 19 (24.kg). Kyrgyzstan’s National Bank announces changes in quantitative criterion of monetary policy 2009 and cut inflation rate from 15 to 7.5 percent (December 2009 to December 2008). “The bank takes into account the ...

BISHKEK, August 19 (24.kg). Kyrgyzstan’s National Bank announces changes in quantitative criterion of monetary policy 2009 and cut inflation rate from 15 to 7.5 percent (December 2009 to December 2008). “The bank takes into account the ...

Kyrgyzstan wastes 26.5% of energy since 2009
Times of Central Asia (subscription)
Electric power waste of Kyrgyzstan has reached 26.5 percent (1.2 billion kilowatt-hours) for the first seven months of 2009, Ilyas Davydov, the Industry, ...
Davydov: Imposition of energy consumption limits will be shifted ...Times of Central Asia (subscription)

all 2 news articles »

BISHKEK, August 19 (24.kg). Kyrgyzstan attaches priority importance to development of Kyrgyz-American relations, Kadyrbek Sarbaev, the Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan said meeting with General David Petraeus, commander of the U.S. Central Command. The ...

Reforms within opposition in Kyrgyzstan not to give results: expert
Trend News Agency
Despite the planned reforms in the structure of the United People's Movement (UPM) of Kyrgyzstan, the opposition will unlikely significantly strengthen, ...

LONDON: An increasing number of sovereign wealth funds (SWF) are working in concert to make joint strategic investments in order to reduce risks and maximize returns, which could provide a stabilizing force in financial markets. State-owned funds ...

LONDON: An increasing number of sovereign wealth funds (SWF) are working in concert to make joint strategic investments in order to reduce risks and maximize returns, which could provide a stabilizing force in financial markets. State-owned funds ...

I post this without comment of my own except a short note on differences in translation. Ferghana.ru is reporting this week in that after pressuring women for several months to stop attending mosque on Fridays, Bukhara authorities have officially told them to stay home.

Muslim women in Bukhara are now prohibited to go to mosques, where they are used to go before Friday prayer. According to Uzbekistani Committee for religious affairs, in 2009 Friday prayer in the Bukhara mosques was attended by over thousand women. Two mosques, Khuzha tabband and Piri dastgir, were especially popular. However, since recently the representatives of law enforcement bodies, clergy and mahallah (district) committees have been actively urging Muslim women stop visiting mosques and reached significant success.

Ferghana.ru is reporting the story in English, Russian, and Uzbek . This is the first time I can remember seeing a story on Ferghana.ru that was basically identitical in all three languages. The only difference of any potential significance that jumps out at me is that the English version ends by saying that Bukharan authorities have decided women’s presence in the mosque for Friday prayers is “intolerable,” while the Russian version (недопустимое) is I think closer to a simple “unacceptable” and the Uzbek is (ножоиз) something like “out of place” or “inappropriate.” Whether this difference in shades of meaning is conscious editorializing for different audiences or just translators’ prerogative, I can’t say… but I’ve noticed before that some multilingual Central Asia sites will often shape the content in a language across languages to meet expectations of different assumed readerships.

Please feel free link to other coverage/versions of the story in the comments. So far I don’t see it reported in other places, but I’m sure it means I’m just not looking hard enough.

LONDON: An increasing number of sovereign wealth funds (SWF) are working in concert to make joint strategic investments in order to reduce risks and maximize returns, which could provide a stabilizing force in financial markets. State-owned funds ...

KOSH-KORGON, Kyrgyzstan — The three men were locals who were said to have once crossed into nearby Afghanistan to wage war alongside the Taliban. They then returned, militant wayfarers apparently bent on inciting an Afghan-style insurgency in this ...

KOSH-KORGON, Kyrgyzstan — The three men were locals who were said to have once crossed into nearby Afghanistan to wage war alongside the Taliban. They then returned, militant wayfarers apparently bent on inciting an Afghan-style insurgency in this ...

KOSH-KORGON, Kyrgyzstan — The three men were locals who were said to have once crossed into nearby Afghanistan to wage war alongside the Taliban. They then returned, militant wayfarers apparently bent on inciting an Afghan-style insurgency in this ...

KOSH-KORGON, Kyrgyzstan — The three men were locals who were said to have once crossed into nearby Afghanistan to wage war alongside the Taliban. They then returned, militant wayfarers apparently bent on inciting an Afghan-style insurgency in this ...

KOSH-KORGON, Kyrgyzstan — The three men were locals who were said to have once crossed into nearby Afghanistan to wage war alongside the Taliban. They then returned, militant wayfarers apparently bent on inciting an Afghan-style insurgency in this ...

KOSH-KORGON, Kyrgyzstan — The three men were locals who were said to have once crossed into nearby Afghanistan to wage war alongside the Taliban. They then returned, militant wayfarers apparently bent on inciting an Afghan-style insurgency in this ...

KOSH-KORGON, Kyrgyzstan — The three men were locals who were said to have once crossed into nearby Afghanistan to wage war alongside the Taliban. They then returned, militant wayfarers apparently bent on inciting an Afghan-style insurgency in this ...