Gender and Central Asia Conference Paris June 2012

Conference – Workshop

Gender in Central Asia: Contemporary issues in nation-building of former Soviet States

 

Venue : Réseau Asie – Pacifique / Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme

190, avenue de France – 75013 Paris

 

4 June 2012

 

 

Suppoted by: Réseau Asie-Pacifique (CNRS - FMSH) / UMR Mondes Indien – Iranien (CNRS) / Centre d’Etudes, de Documentation et de Recherches en Etudes Féministes (CEDREF – Université Paris-Diderot) / Institut Français d’Etudes sur l’Asie Centrale (IFEAC).

During the last twenty years, the Republics born from the breakup of the Soviet Union have been experiencing new political, social and economic configurations. The creation of these Nation States took place in conjunction with their entry into the market economy and the establishment of new diplomatic and economic partnerships (Europe, USA, Iran, Turkey, China, etc.). This was translated by reconfigurations of elites, a new attitude to religions and history, new dynamics of migration and a diversification of political actors (international institutions, foreign NGOs and local associations). In France, socio-anthropological, historical, economic and political research on these countries focused on different themes: Russian-Soviet legacies, religious and identity reconfigurations (B. Balci; M. Laruelle and S. Peyrouse; C. Poujol; Y. Rytkhéou; T. Zarcone), State and internal policy related changes (I. Dichev; I. Ohayon; A. Thircuir; J. Thorez; S. Tordjman), economic crisis, reconstitutions of solidarity groups and political and cultural sociability (S. Dudoignon; B. Petric; O. Roy; A. Zevaco), new geopolitical context (M. Djalili; O. Roy), the NGOization phenomenon (N. Guilhot; B. Hours and M. Sélim; A. Moscaritolo; B. Petric).

The reconfiguration of gender relations is, in fact, cross-disciplinary. Research on gender issues in Central Asia published in English focuses on attitudes to religion (A. Chenoy; M. Kamp; R. Sultanova), family reconfiguration (C. Harris; M.E. Hegland), labor market changes (E. Faezullaeva; N. Kanji; K. Kuehnast), women's participation in politics and non-profit sphere (D. Kandiyoti; N. Tohidi; Z. Tursunova and N. Azizova), State and nation-building (N. Megoran) and migrations (U. Hashimova). Some works in French have been considering women’s and gender issues in Central Asia since recently (S. Atlani-Duault; L. Bazin; L. Direnberger; A. Ducloux; H. Fathi; S. Hohmann; A. Jarry-Omarova; M. Sélim; S. Tadjbakhsh).

This conference-workshop aims to pursue this reflection, focusing on the power relations between men and women in the context of national reconfigurations. In the wake of research on the theme of "gender and nation" (E. Gapova; R. Ivekovic; D. Kandiyoti; J. Nagel; N. Yuval-Davis), we intend to analyze how ethno-national histories contribute to the production of gender representations. We would also like to explore the interconnection between "gender and nation" in the context of international gender policy and norms transfer. The purpose is to address social practices and political institutions from gender perspective: States and public policies; nations and nationalisms; women's and LGBT collective mobilization; masculinities and the construction of power; new economies and their impact on women, etc. Gender (and male dominance) is thus in the intersection of social class and race relations (E. Dorlin; D. Kergoat). We would like to put an accent on the combination of these power relations and their impact on society and nation-building projects in these countries. Papers are therefore expected from all social science disciplines focusing on Central Asia and, in favor of a comparative approach, more largely on the countries concerned by a post-colonial relation with "Moscow": Republics of Siberia, the Baltic countries, Caucasus, Central and Eastern Europe. 

Three main themes will structure proposals, without being exclusive.

 

1.     Representations on gender relations

Soviet domination framed citizens and "ethnic" identities, constructing a specific ideology of gender, strictly embedded and thought of in terms of the "Soviet class". Nowadays, how have independent governments restructured these power relations? What are new femininities and masculinities? To what extent can we speak of a break with the image of the "Soviet woman and man"? How are these representations involved in the shaping of national identities? One of the main targets of this workshop is to analyze the discursive and ideological output of different social actors on "women's rights" and on the place of women in contemporary society: political elites, religious protagonists, international partners, as well as local non-governmental actors.

At the same time, the signature of international treaties on women's rights allowed various Central Asia governments to enter the international arena, forcing them to accept the presence of international development programs promoting the concept of gender. How have they appropriated this new order of equality between men and women? What laws and public policies have been implemented and what specific roles have been attributed to men and women in order to reconfigure or maintain the state of gender relations? Foreign influence is also present in several other areas: media, Internet, cinema (and TV production). It can also be observed in more institutionalized way in private Koranic Turkish or American evangelical schools, or through experiences of migrants to the United States, Russia, China and Europe. In regards to these new practices, we would like to analyze new representations of family relations, sexuality, motherhood, and the way that various discourses recompose these new identities. 

2.     Participation of women in economic, educational and cultural areas

Perestroika was followed by a liberalization of the economy that caused an economic and social earthquake rarely analyzed in terms of its impact on gender relations. In fact, women did not remain "passive" and had to adapt to this "new deal". In this field of study, papers are expected to analyze the current activity of women in major social institutions in such areas as economy, education, culture, but also health, recreation, and others. What different strategies do these women implement (social networks, social capital, etc.)? What obstacles do they face (generation discrimination, professional segregation, time devoted to domestic duties, etc.)?

 

3.     Political mobilizations

With the adoption of democratic Constitutions, the Women's Committee, a single-sex recognized space for collective action dependent on the Party, has disintegrated, and the number of elected and active women in the new democratic political institutions has notoriously declined. However, women forming a part of the intellectual and social elites have not "disappeared" from these societies. In addition, democratization has been accompanied by the opening, at least in principle, of public space to associations independent from political authorities. What roles have these women played in the process of national reconstruction and at what kind of structures: institutional policy, ruling elites, associations, media? What referents do they use: mother, wife, intellectual, member of a party, member of a community or another identity group, religion or social class? We would like to discuss their political experiences, activism resources, electoral support and their political programs. In what context and for what reason can gender identity become a political resource? What obstacles do these women face?

Finally, what about feminist reflections and actions in Central Asia and in other post-Soviet societies today? Scientific research does not refer to it: is this to say that there is no feminist movement, nor any group of women (associations, neighborhood groups, networks of intellectuals) which points out inequalities between men and women and claims for equality? How does this kind of activism differ, according to the different social contexts of each country and the resources that women can use or not? Then, considering that "gender" is now a mandatory aspect of development programs carried by international organizations, we would like to discuss the relationship between women activists, their foreign partners and governments.

 

Proposals are to be sent - in English or French - before Monday, January 15,2012 in the form of a summary of 1000 words or less to the organizers: