NHK World 2015.07.17

The Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan is seeing an unending stream of ‘legally’ abandoned children. As many as 2,000 infants are relinquished every year in accordance with a family law that seems to reflect the nation’s socialist history. The number is particularly high in the capital of Astana where large-scale development is attracting people from the regions coming in search of work. Many babies resulting from encounters between such men and women end up being legally abandoned. The program delves into this troubling social problem by looking at a children’s home for “relinquished” infants and a mothers’ home for solo mothers who have decided to keep their babies.

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NHK World 2015.06.26

The Dordoi Bazaar in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek is Eurasia’s largest. It is a key way-stop on the route by which Chinese products travel to Russia and Central Asia. But the bazaar faces major change, as Kyrgyzstan joins the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) led by Russia. Before, import and export taxes were very low, and the intermediary trade of the bazaar blossomed. Having joined the EEU, however, import tariffs on Chinese products are expected to soar, which will have a massive impact on sales. Merchants are troubled, with some choosing to downsize their business, or close up shop altogether. As China’s “One Belt, One Road” strategy unfolds, and the country turns its attention to Central Asia, small landlocked Kyrgyzstan is stuck between 2 giants. By looking at the Dordoi Bazaar, we’ll examine the pressures faced by merchants throughout Kyrgyzstan.

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NHK World 2013.09.06

Kazakhstan is the fastest-growing country in Central Asia. A new capital, Astana, was born on the empty steppe in 1997. The construction boom has drawn laborers and investors from all around the country. We look into the allure of the city of Astana.

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NHK World 2013.08.23

In Kyrgyzstan, a small country in Central Asia, the institution of marriage is troubled by the serious social problem of “bride kidnapping”. Women are abducted and forced to marry men they have never met. A traditional practice of Kyrgyzstan’s formerly nomadic people, during the Soviet years and since independence the custom has taken on a criminal character. It leaves deep scars in its victims, and 2012 saw a series of kidnapping-related suicides.
Munara Beknazarova has taken on the mission of putting a stop to this ongoing tragedy in her country. She offers supportive care to victims while battling to change public acceptance of bride kidnapping as a traditional practice.
This episode of Asia Insight reports on bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan and Munara Beknazarova’s fight to end it.

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