Nazira (38 y.o.) addressed to the center «Sezim», escaping with her children from her husband-rapist, who periodically during 8 years beat her and her son from her first marriage.
Nazira during 4 years does not communicate with relatives and friends, her husband limited her in all her contacts with the outside world, and so for many of her closed ones, their escape from her husband’s home was a surprise.
To prevent their neighbors from hearing the beatings, her husband turned on music louder…To prevent their younger common son from hearing beatings, he put a 6-year-old child behind the computer and put on headphones … To prevent his wife and elder stepson from helping each other during the beatings, he closed them in different rooms …
The eldest son thought that it was his real father … But recently his stepfather during the next beating informed him that he was not his son and expelled the 14-year-old from his home.
Nazira tried to escape several times from the rapist, but did not dare …she was afraid … that she could not support two children without a home and work. After her husband expelled the eldest son and terribly beather, she ran with the youngest son from their house and addressed to the center «Sezim» for help.
And then the typical history for today in Kyrgyzstan of the woman who suffered from domestic violence begins, who applied for protection to law enforcement and judicial bodies.
During the procedures for registering the divorce, all the information of Nazira, her place of residence and temporary work, already became open to her husband-rapist through his lawyer and the judicial authorities. He watched all her movements with their children around the city and tried to steal their common child, and only their desperate resistance helped not to realize his plans.
Nazira got a protection order, but the law did not protect her. The policeman of the Leninsky district of Bishkek instead of protecting her from the rapist, told her that she must save her family and return to her husband … and gave the rapist the address of the shelter where Nazira and her children were hiding from him at that time. Several times he came and threatened employees of the shelter, seeking a meeting with Nazira.
Nazira, with the help of center «Sezim» lawyers, filed a complaint to the prosecutor’s office about the inaction of the policeman but there are no results. There is no progress on the part of the investigator on the fact of her beating, so far no criminal case has been filed, there are no results of forensic examination, the investigator of the Leninsky district of Bishkek verbally replied that she lost all the documents on that case, and she has a big queue …
The majority of victims from domestic violence in Kyrgyzstan do not seek help from law enforcement and judicial authorities because they face inaction of the state legal system and fear for their safety infront the violators. And they prefer to solve their problems alone, or just accept the fact they are victims…
Nazira issued a divorce, today she and her children live at the Transit Social House of the center «Sezim». She got a job as a cleaner in several places, her children go to school … and together with the lawyers of our center, they will still have to seek justice and protect their rights and dignity.
Nazira expressed her desire to voice her problem in the media in order to openly defend her rights and the rights of women in Kyrgyzstan who found themselves in a similar situation.
(Photos are published with the consent of Nazira from her workplace)