The foremost scholarship that provides theoretical grounding for the issue of women’s political participation and representation lies in the pioneering work of Hannah Pitkin, who believed that representation occurs when constituents express their interests and become actionable to advance them (Pitkin, 1967). Without doubt, political representation of women, and the barriers and strategies that curb this, have become primary concerns for many scholars and policy makers around the world in recent decades (Baker, 2019; Ette and Akpan-Obong, 2022; Matloob et al., 2021). Some scholars have noted that before the emergence of these recent debates, the lack of representation of women in politics was not viewed as a problem because discussions were based on the premise that ‘By marriage, the husband and the wife are one person in law’ (Blackstone, as quoted in Okin, 1979, p. 249). Since then, much progress has been made. ‘Ever since women’s inclusion in leadership and decision-making became a pillar of human rights instruments, a focus of international governance and democracy assistance has been to support women’s political participation’ (Palmieri and Zetlin, 2020 p. 4) which has been historically hindered by patriarchy, religious factors (Oluyemi, 2016) illiteracy, lack of awareness, lack of party support, stigmatization, cultural factors, finance, amongst other factors (Sharma, 2019). Our philosophical heritage, Okin argues, largely rests on the assumption of the natural inequality of the sexes (Okin, 2013).

Be that as it may, it is important to state that while many have acknowledged the underrepresentation of women in politics, every notion to do with this, as well as strategies to curb it, have met with defensive reactions. For example, some scholars, while acknowledging that women are underrepresented, claim that a scrutiny of the issue reveals that the argument is flawed. The argument of such scholars has historically been based on what the priority of women should be, namely, representation, or the lack thereof, of their interests— be such representation by a man or a woman (Pitkin, 1967). Nevertheless, more recent studies have shown across diverse instances that over time, women’s political participation as well as the presence of women actors in politics have positively impacted the advancement of women’s interests and their agenda as a group (Clayton and Zetterberg, 2021; Franceschet et al., 2012). According to Hessami and da Fonseca (2020), these recent developments have spurred changes in parliamentary deliberations on crucial issues such as access to public child care services. Similarly, increased representation of women in politics has also positively impacted graft activities.

There is also increasing interest with respect to other discourses, such as meritocracy and tokenism. People are interested in knowing whether women are appointed based on skills and accomplishments, or simply to give the appearance of diversity or inclusivity. According to qualitative findings reported in Ban and Rao's (2008) study, representation of women typically results in token appointments to older and poorly-educated women by wealthy incumbents, a circumstance which clearly defeats the entire purpose of any such appointment. Regardless of these criticisms, what may be agreed upon is that since women have become part of decision-making and governance, they have been able to represent men, women and families by stimulating functionality at work and creating opportunities for all in the areas of gender equality, maternal and paternal leave, gratuities and childcare, pensions, gender-equality laws and electoral reform (IPU, 2011).

While the discourse and debates continue, the representation of women continues to garner scholarly attention around the world. Previous studies have focused on how women navigate representational issues in different political climes (Ette and Akpan-Obong, 2022; Matloob et al., 2021; Taşkın, 2021). Ette and Akpan-Obong (2022) conducted qualitative research to understand how women in four out of six geopolitical zones in Nigeria negotiate the challenges of the underrepresentation of women in a society that views political access of women as a privilege. They found that women created pathways within the patriarchal web to manage their political affairs. In addition, Matloob et al. (2021) conducted research on the role of women in the Azad Jammu Kashmir area of Pakistan, a political region where political parties play a role in gatekeeping women’s representation. They found that socio-political factors continue to impact the representation of women.

There have been some notable interventions attempting to overcome problems with women’s political representation and participation. Primary among these is a legislated quota system. Over 55% of countries today have some sort of quota system for proportional representation of women in both political parties and the legislative arm of government (Krook and Zetterber, 2014). The system is considered the leading initiative for eradicating gender inequality in politics (Pansardi and Pedrazzani, 2022), and evidence shows that it has been successful in some regions, such as in French territories (Baker, 2019), and unsuccessful or resisted in others, such as the Pacific (Palmieri and Zetlin, 2020). All Central Asian countries have quota systems, and it must be said that these have worked, albeit only to a certain extent. However, as Dahlerup (2005) rightly said, the proper application of the gender quota has historically brought with it its imbalance and challenges.

Another common strategy for increasing participation and support for women political actors operates via group discussions, working groups, workshops, study tours, training and seminars. All are geared towards empowering women and equipping them with the skills necessary to face the challenges of the political realm. Under the provisions of The Beijing Platform for Action, The Millennium Development Goals and the CEDAW, UN Women has provided various series of training to help sensitise women as well as assist in capacity development, and organised electorate and civic education programs for women. Also, at the forefront are strategies that include other kinds of policy reforms and laws targeted at strengthening the state and its institutions to accommodate gender equality. Examples are to be found in the reform of electoral institutions, family and labour law, parental leave, gender-based violence and gender equality. Uzbekistan has implemented many such reforms and laws, a noteworthy one being the New Family Code and Labour Code designed to guarantee women’s interests and curb the threat to women’s status (Mee and Alimdjanova, 2001). Similarly, in 2010, Kazakhstan’s government made amendments to its national legislation to eliminate all kinds of gender discrimination at all levels of society. The legislation also manages and controls the administration of gender rights for men and women in the state (Khamzina et al., 2020).

Although the term ‘Central Asia’ is used to describe the entire region, there is a general understanding that its individual states have significant peculiarities. Nevertheless, a region-based approach in any exploration of women’s political participation and representation in this part of the world is warranted firstly by these states’ shared Soviet experience, and secondly by similarities in their manoeuvrings on what constitutes a modern state in the post-Soviet era, and how this interferes with gender norms (Cleuziou and Direnberger, 2016).

Having established that, it is important to note that the issues of women and women in politics in post-Soviet Central Asia are complicated and cannot be discussed without acknowledging the Soviet era. There were efforts made by Soviet era politics to ameliorate the gender albatrosses of government and affairs of the state, although ultimately, they would prove largely fruitless. According to KB (2005), at the birth of the Soviet Union, the expectations were that the welfare system would create a gender equal society. As a result, laws were created to exhaustively address the concerns of women based on Marxism-Leninism ideology. However, in practice, these did not positively impact the political participation and representation of women. Indeed, the reality is that in most parts of Central Asia, the expectation remained that women be the caregivers of the next generation, and it is this expectation that lies at the root of most social problems faced by women (Olcott, 2019b). The lack of formal political participation by women in post-Soviet politics is directly traceable to why there’s been no political divide along party lines. Hence, in the years immediately following the dissolution of the Soviet state, political participation by women was, to all intents and purposes, non-existent. Since the end of the Soviet era in 1991, women’s participation has played out in a variety of ways in these five culturally and ethnically diverse countries that make up Central Asia (Batsaikhan and Dabrowski, 2017). Regional initiatives and international organizations have repeatedly stressed the importance of inclusive political participation and gender equality in Central Asia. Programs implemented within the framework of regional cooperation emphasize the need to strengthen institutional capacity and promote the involvement of women in decision-making processes at both the national and local levels (Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation, 2022). Similar priorities are reflected in the work of global parliamentary organizations, which emphasize that women’s representation in political life is a key indicator of democratic development and good governance (Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), 2008).

In the Republic of Kazakhstan, for instance, the state adopted the Freedom of Election contained in Articles 1–2 of its constitution. This is based on the principle of international electoral and political rights, and provides for the right of all Kazakhs to vote and be voted for. In other words, every citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan has the right to be part of government and affairs of state regardless of religion, gender, social status, race, ethnicity or disability. From 1991 to the early 2000s, women’s participation was significantly low. One notable event that indicated a change in Kazakh politics was during the 2003 Maslikhat elections, when there was a noticeable increase in participation by women; they constituted almost 25% of candidates. A surprising 1,484 were nominated for deputy positions, 17.1% of whom were elected (Moniruzzaman and Farzana, 2019).

In 2004, the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Kazakhstan, informally known as the Mazhilis, witnessed the nomination of 24 women, with 87 women elected to various public offices. According to Maartee et al. (2010), data on parliament distribution shows that from 2000 to 2007, Kazakh women occupied 10.4% of seats in parliament. By extension, the distribution of women in public service naturally grew from 54 to 57.4% between 2000 and January 1, 2005. The representation of women in political spaces remains lower than 30% in other areas, including in the lowest tier of government (Zeinilova, 2023).

As for Kyrgyzstan, there were no women in parliament in the 1990s, although it must be noted that in young post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan, women were already industry leaders in banking, finance, and publishing as well in ministries, departments and agencies such as education, foreign affairs, law enforcement and welfare (UN Press, 1999). This means that women’s participation was noticeable both before and after the Tulip Revolution,¹ and they were involved in marches, protests and other forms of community building and organising. The lack of women in the Kyrgyzstan parliament after the USSR dissolution was not because Kyrgyzstan women were not selected, but because their right to have parliamentary seats was challenged by their primary contenders, all of whom were then accepted as winners (Moniruzzaman and Farzana, 2019). Put simply, women in Kyrgyzstan are also politically underrepresented–it is difficult for them to initiate legislation that addresses issues of interest to them (Commercio, 2022).

To increase women’s participation, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who became Kyrgyzstan’s leader on July 10, 2005, following the overthrow of Askar Akayev, made efforts to include women in his government structure. Unfortunately, none of the three nominees supported the parliament at the time. Since then, women’s participation has grown; in 2018, of the 120 members of parliament, 23 were women (19.2%) (Turdalieva and Tiulegenov, 2018). According to 2022 global data on national parliaments, 20.45% of Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Council’s membership is made up of women. Despite these recent improvements, women are still poorly represented in positions of higher authority in the Kyrgyzstan government (Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2023). At the national level, international and national monitoring reports show that official commitments to gender equality do not always lead to significant political empowerment. In the case of Kyrgyzstan, recent assessments of political processes indicate persistent structural and cultural barriers that limit women’s effective participation in electoral politics and party structures (Kyrgyzstan political processes program: IRI, 2023). Official national data also confirm the continuing problems associated with women’s representation in political institutions, despite the existing legal framework aimed at ensuring gender balance (Kyrgyzstan, 2024).

In Uzbekistan, women’s political participation has played out similarly to that in other countries in the region. However, unlike in the others, work in non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and socio-political activism is one of the most exciting accomplishments of women in Uzbekistan (Peshkova, 2020). In March 1995, a presidential decree specifically designed to stimulate a formal political structure for Uzbek women’s participation in public life was promulgated. This created the position of Deputy Prime Minister for Women’s Affairs. The political structure created a seat for deputy governor or mayor at the provincial, regional and city levels. Despite this intervention aiming at raising women’s participation—and especially to compensate for the absence of women at the decision-making levels of politics (Mee and Alimdjanova, 2001)—women’s involvement and representation in appointive positions decreased. Before the 2000s, there were, on average, 1.4% women in political party factions (Moniruzzaman and Farzana, 2019). Indeed, to date, political parties in Uzbekistan have paid little attention to educated women in the realm of social and political activities (Ismailova and Abdullaev, 2021).

In 2000, women politicians were elected to only 7% of seats in the Uzbekistan Parliament (the Oliy Majilis) (Mee and Alimdjanova, 2001). As a reaction to the overwhelming decline in women in elective and appointive positions, the quota system—which had been abolished in the 1980s—was reintroduced as part of the National Action Plan. In December 2009, Uzbeks held a general election under the new electoral law. By 2016, the number of women in parliament stood at 16% in the Lower House and 17% in the Upper House. According to the 2022 Global Data on National Parliaments, women members constituted 33.33% of Uzbekistan’s Lower House and 23% of the Upper House (Uzbekistan Parliament, 2023).

Participation of women in Turkmenistan politics has also followed a similar trajectory to most of the other Central Asian countries. The role of women in society is deeply rooted in the Turkmen tribal structure and history (Baştuğ and Hortacsu, 2000). As a result, the lack of political participation among Turkmenistan women was one of the most troubling in the region (Habeeb, 2005) throughout the first two decades of the post-Soviet era.

While women’s participation is still concerning in the grand scheme of things, the last decade has brought good tidings. In 2017, the number of women in the Turkmenistan parliament peaked in making up 25.8%, second only to Kazakhstan in the region (Moniruzzaman and Farzana, 2019). According to the 2022 Global Data on National Parliaments, in Turkmenistan’s Lower House, women constitute 25.86% of members, and in the Upper House, 25.45% (Turkmenistan, 2023).

Generally speaking, in Tajikistan, women are not well represented in leadership and political participation. Only one woman holds a ministry leadership position, with two women on parliamentary committees, and only 12 of 63 (19%) of parliamentary legislators are women. The results of the 2020 election show an increase from 18.7 to 25.8% (upper house) and 19 to 23.8% (lower house) (United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 2020). One particular social indicator that has proven to be a good measure for political participation and empowerment is distribution in the legislative assembly (Barber, 2003) (see Table 1).

Table 2 further shows that while there are similarities among Central Asian countries, especially with respect to the political representation of women, access to political seats across these countries underscores significant distinctions. For example, between 2017 and 2023, the number of women elected to the lower chamber in Uzbekistan doubled, access in Kazakhstan significantly declined, and in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, progress was made tremendously.

The academic literature contains only limited evidence as to the motives behind the progression of women’s participation as well as its impact on parliamentary deliberations, policy outcomes and the welfare of women in Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Indeed, some argue that this appearance of progress is just that, a façade of a gender equal society. For example, in April 2022, the government of Turkmenistan prohibited the provision of a variety of women’s beauty services, such as eyelash extensions, wrinkle-smoothing, lip fillers, hair dyes, etc. Ten days after this call, civil servants in the Mary region were mandated to pledge that they would not use any of these services and avoid wearing close-fitting clothing. Besides this, girls and women are still subjected to virginity tests, gender-based violence, arranged marriage and many other activities that call into question Article 16 of Law 264-V that guarantees equal rights for both genders in Turkmenistan (Kepderi, 2022). Similarly, some believe that little has changed in Tajikistan. Gender roles remain defined, and domestic violence, believed to be widespread, continues to plague women despite the state’s Law on Prevention of Violence in the Family. As a matter of fact, in the early part of 2024, the UN’s CEDAW expressed concerns about the deep-rooted patriarchal nature of Tajikistan society and its impact on women’s rights (Nurmagambetova, 2024).

One explanation for the decline in access in Kazakhstan is that the post-Soviet state has struggled with implementing mechanisms to increase women’s participation and the representation of women in key political offices. According to Zeinilova (2023), ‘The current gender regime in Kazakhstan is shaped by the interaction of multi-layered processes, involving traditionalist social principles, intensive Sovietisation, nation-building dynamics, as well as a return to patriarchal values’ (p.112). This is evidently different from what happens in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Tracing the trajectory of women’s political representation in Kyrgyzstan, one understands that it, too, in its post-Soviet period, has encountered some challenges. However, the idiosyncrasies of its political system—characterised by competition and openness—have created varying factors that simultaneously stimulate and hinder the participation of women at the polls. Kyrgyzstan’s most recent parliamentary elections took place on November 28, 2021, with a total of 20.5% (n = 18) female candidates taking seats in parliament (Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), 2024).

Available data show that the pattern of women’s representation in politics in Kazakhstan differs from the general progression in other post-Soviet states, insofar as there has been a regression in the number of women in parliament in the latter. Other regimes, such as those in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Russia, have not followed this pattern, and of the post-Soviet states which have undergone regime change and transformations towards more democratic political settings, Kyrgyzstan demonstrates less progress in terms of women’s political participation (Zeinilova, 2023).

Overall, the available literature and evidence show that not much progress has been made regarding women’s political participation and representation in Central Asia (Turdalieva and Tiulegenov, 2018; Zeinilova, 2023; Moniruzzaman and Farzana, 2019). Be that as it may, this study builds upon the existing literature on strategies to increase women’s political participation (Baker, 2019; Palmieri and Zetlin, 2020; Krook and Norris, 2014) by exploring alternative strategies which Central Asian politically active women believe would help increase participation and support for women as political actors in the region.

The study focuses on women in Central Asia, but even as it refers to the latter as an entity, it is important to stress that Central Asia consists of five politically, culturally, socially and economically diverse states which have trodden various unique paths since the dissolution of the USSR (Buckley, 1997). Nevertheless, a few reasons explain why this study seeks to understand its subject from a regional perspective. First of all, these Central Asian countries share a similar USSR experience. Secondly, the experiences of women in the USSR were similar (Fathi, 2007), and finally, ‛the commonalities observed in the post-Soviet period regarding the elaboration of modern nation-states and ideologies, and more specifically, how they intertwine with gender norms’ (Cleuziou and Direnberger, 2016, p. 196).

This study adopts purposive sampling. Purposive sampling, according to Kelly (2010, p. 317), is deemed appropriate when the inquirer aims to obtain useful information from specific respondents. Considering that this study aims to understand the alternative strategies to increase participation and Support for women political Actors, purposive sampling of politically active women with at least three years of experience was deemed appropriate. We also sought to interview respondents who are currently residing in Central Asia. This is not uncommon for a multi-country women-focused qualitative study. For example, Riche et al. (2023) conducted a multimethod study of focus group discussions and in-depth interviews into how to increase the representation of women in global health leadership. Women in Haiti, India, Tanzania, and the United States. In total, 85 women participated in focus groups, and 15 also participated in in-depth interviews.

To ensure regional diversity, the sample was drawn from national, regional and local communities in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Further, the researchers reached out to potential respondents through political parties, political organisers, civil society organisations, regional and grassroots communities’ organisations, as well as community referrals to guarantee an urban and rural spread.

In total, 20 politically active women were recruited from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan for this study. After numerous efforts to contact politically active women in Turkmenistan, the only willing respondent withdrew a few days before the interview, meaning that Turkmenistan is not represented in our sample frame. We recruited six women from Kazakhstan, and four each from Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (see Table 3). Our sample frame ranged among women in appointive positions, such as personnel from the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan, those in elective positions, such as a former parliamentarian, former mayors of major central Asian cities, and aspirants currently running for seats at the local and national levels.

Except for two interviewees, all were contacted via email in the form of a detailed letter to all potential interviewees. The e-mail addresses were obtained from online sources such as LinkedIn, websites and Twitter, among others. Seventeen of the respondents were recruited via online sources (LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook). Three others were interviewed physically. The first interviewee who was approached physically was a former parliamentarian whom we had a chance to interview because one of the study authors was an employee of the Central Commission for Elections and Referendum of Kazakhstan. The second interviewee, who was physically approached, was a staff member of the Central Commission for Elections and Referendum of the Kyrgyz Republic. She was approached during her observation duties at the November 2022 Kazakhstan general election. All respondents from Uzbekistan were contacted via email, with contact details for two shared by professors one of the study authors met during an event (‘Central Asia + Russia: New Horizon of Cooperation for Building a Joint Future) at which the author was scheduled to meet and interview a political coordinator and activist, the only female candidate to run for the presidential seat in 2005 and 2009 in one of the Central Asian states.

Although efforts were made to interview thirty (six per country) politically active women in Central Asia, language, time, and location proved to be significant hurdles. The interviewer was unable to speak the Turkmen language, which naturally greatly impacted the chances of recruiting a woman from the region. Due to logistical constraints, the interviewer was unable to visit several Central Asian regions. This sample frame is a limitation of the study.

Before the interview, respondents read the interview guidelines, and keywords such as ‘Central Asia’ and ‘politically active’ were discussed. Given that the interviews were intended to investigate alternative strategies for increasing support for women political actors in Central Asia, questions were informed by prior related studies (Cleuziou and Direnberger, 2016; Matloob et al., 2021; Palmieri and Zetlin, 2020). The interviewer asked the women about their experiences in politics, the challenges they faced, their perception of low representation of women in politics and what they viewed as the reasons for this, challenges to women’s participation in politics, and what they thought of donor-driven interventions and alternative strategies. The interviews spanned approximately 20 months, from February 2022 to November 2023. On average, interviews lasted 50 min. Since these twenty interviews cannot and do not represent the experiences of all Central Asian women, we do not attempt to generalise our findings. Additionally, it is crucial to state that the study findings represent the experience of the selected women; needless to say, it is context-specific and may not apply to minimally represented women political actors in the entire region or in the Caucasus (i.e., Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia) or Eastern Europe (Maldova and Ukraine) because of their similar post-soviet experience, for instance.

The data for this study were obtained following the approval of the IRB at the Graduate Institute of L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University. All interviewees were free to choose a place/platform and time to be interviewed. The guidelines were read to them before the interview, and their consent was sought before the recording got underway. To protect respondents’ anonymity, all participants are referred to alphabetically (A-R). Understanding that the researcher’s prior experience and supposition about the representation of women in Central Asia may impact data collection and analysis, reflexive notes were sustained throughout this research process. Additionally, to stimulate the highest level of transparency possible within the qualitative research context, consistent debriefing by all researchers happened once a month on Saturdays throughout the data collection phase.

The study adopted thematic analysis data because of its capacity to organise, highlight and report data found within a dataset (Braun and Clarke, 2006). Twelve of the interviews were conducted in Russian and then translated into English by a PhD candidate who is a native speaker of Russian and works as a freelance translator in Russian to English translation and vice versa. After being translated, they were transcribed. For the analysis, all twenty transcribed interviews were subjected to inductive thematic analysis. The thematic analysis allows recurring ideas to be extracted (Jason and Glenwick, 2016). To ascertain the dominant themes, data were grouped into multiple themes. The first author carried out the initial coding and classification of initial themes. In this stage, first, transcripts were read sequentially to highlight meaningful information. Secondly, descriptive codes were established and systematically revised. Thirdly, codes were grouped into probable themes. Fourthly, themes and sub-themes with the highest frequency were developed inductively. Fifth, the authors then reviewed them to ensure that they represented alternative strategies for increasing support for women political actors in Central Asia. Across all stages, intercoder checks were operational. The initial reading of transcripts was done by two coders. At the second stage, the two coders performed the coding and compared coding decisions until a consensus was reached. Both coders decided on the probable themes as well as the qualified themes through discussion (see Table 2).

Although short-term policy reforms and legislation may serve as valuable conversation points, their effectiveness may be limited if they are not adequately implemented. To improve women’s participation and overall representation of women in Central Asian politics, societies in the region must be ready to invest in long-term cultural shifts, which would include a holistic change in attitudes towards politics and gender.

The idea that women are meant to be nurturers of the next generation (Olcott, 2019b) must be revisited and represented differently at home, at work and in all forms of media content—books, films, etc. There exist homegrown organisations making efforts to do this, the Women’s Support Centre in Kyrgyzstan being one such. It prioritises improving gender sensitivities through schools, correcting attitudes, changing stereotypes, and campaigning, as well as tracking legislative actions on female representation (Interview, Women’s Support Center representative, 2018).

The primary impediment here is that, unlike the quota system and other strategies, which may be legislated for in months or a few years, long-term cultural shifts require much perseverance because they are typically slow and require a great deal of unlearning. Evidence of the debilitation of traditional and cultural attitudes and expectations towards women was found in a two-decade-long longitudinal study (Garcia-Brazales, 2022).

The majority of our respondents believe that strides have been made in terms of participation and support for women political actors in Central Asia. In other words, the quota system, along with other strategies, has worked to the extent that it may. For many of our respondents, though, the issue is greater than the conventional strategies adopted in many parts of the world and glocalised in Central Asia. According to their responses, managing ingrained cultural habits and beliefs about women is the ultimate way to improve participation and support for women political actors in Central Asia. According to one respondent;

These sentiments were also shared by ‘J’, ‘A’, ‘R’, ‘Q’ and ‘I’. Responses also highlighted how the change in mindsets could be achieved through agents of socialisation such as family, education, peer groups and religious organisations. A few people mentioned the media.

Without doubt, historical precedents and cultural factors are major obstacles to attitudinal change towards women in many Central Asian countries, and hence any proposed change must be characterised by a sustained and sustainable commitment to the long-term goal of stimulating women’s political participation. To achieve this, gender norms must be interrogated, the citizenry must be sensitised, and societal attitudes towards women must be seen as a prerequisite for gender-focused policy making. All are vital to realising this theme since attitudinal change towards women can positively influence public opinion towards women-focused policies.

In the pursuit of proper representation for women in politics, the impact of international organisations cannot be overstated. As a matter of fact, organisations such as the Soros Foundation, the UN, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and many others have stimulated the development of many Central Asian home-grown organisations (Kaparova, 2017). A disconnection, however, arises when there is a difference in priorities: Typically, most international organisations have a global agenda which, although a great cause, may not necessarily synchronise with a priority of the ideal home-grown organisations with whom they would like to partner. Wholeheartedly embracing the missions and objectives of home-grown NGOs is of unparalleled significance.

Responses on and about increased support for local women’s organisations were also predominant. The majority of our respondents believe that even massive foreign donor initiatives will not sustain the momentum women have, so it appears that sustaining and funding local initiatives is the way forward. According to one respondent, (H) ‘We do not necessarily need a lot of international organisations coming to start their initiatives…, they can support the ideas and organisations that we have here… Last year, two women in Karakol had a nice idea to start a politicians’ association for professional women, but the idea never came to fruition’.

Trust seems to be a major factor within the discourse of support for home-grown organisations and funding them. A good number of these women believe that not-for-profit organisations are more dependable and virtuous.

The responses also highlighted and reiterated the challenges faced by these organisations in working at full capacity. Most seem excellent at networking to solve problems, but a major challenge they face is funding.

Applying affirmative action in the political representation of women suggests the advancement of legislation in addressing gender imbalance by providing targeted intervention and providing distinctive treatment (Catharine, 1987). Despite the efforts of governments and NGOs on affirmative action mandates in both elective and appointive positions in many countries, women are still marginalised when it comes to decision-making opportunities. For example, in 2005 in Kyrgyzstan, all 120 parliamentary deputies were men. Despite the introduction of the quota system, only 20% were women in 2015 (United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 2016). In general, results show ‘a trend of declining representation in parliament since the gender quota was introduced’ (Commercio, 2022, p. 2), and since this is no different from places where there are no official quota policies (Ette & Akpan-Obong), one must ask about the difference that exists between countries with official quota policies and those without.

Undoubtedly, policy changes are an important part of solving women’s problems of position and status in politics. What interests most of our politically active respondents is how these proposed incremental shifts in existing structures are executed to their full extent in the innovative policies.

Our results also revealed that while most of our respondents were pessimistic about the issue of implementation, others believed that the challenges faced in the implementation of public reforms could be met if stakeholders did what was necessary to satisfy existing commitments and responsibilities for participation and support for women political actors. One respondent said;

Deficits in the implementation of good faith public policies favouring women mostly exist from the initiation stage onwards. We believe that for policies to be well executed, policy objectives must be well-mapped out. Women lobbyists must also build capacity for women to participate and benefit from these policies. It is also incumbent upon them to consistently monitor and evaluate the objectives and outcomes of these policies through a gap analysis. In short, increasing participation and support for women political actors in the region requires sustained and committed effort from all involved.

Women’s organisations around the world continue to live with the reality that the political system(s) do not and will not embrace politically disenfranchised groups until the latter make the case for themselves to be embraced or make very serious demands. This requires raising the political consciousness of the groups. In this case, women have to start from how they approach personal and common problems in issues, such as age and class, that divide them (Sapiro, 1981).

Put simply, in their efforts, no stone must be left unturned. Women must be ready to liaise with men if that is what is needed to improve the participation and engagement of women in the political process. A study that explored the underrepresentation of women in the political process in Africa showed that women did not stand a chance in some instances because they lacked ties with political godfathers–those dictating who becomes the next elected officials in some arenas (Ette and Akpan-Obong, 2022).

This need for an all-encompassing approach was common throughout the data. The multidimensional aspects of these women’s lives were also reflected in their responses. In one specific case, a politically active woman who is also a realtor believes that supporting women’s participation in every aspect of the economy will naturally improve the visibility of women in politics.

These experiences were also shared by F″ ‘K’ ‘E’, and ‘S’. We found that sentiments about embracing a multi-faceted approach to supporting women’s participation were mostly supported by married women with children. This may arise out of a compromise, playing a large role in the lives of women with children.

This study is limited in many ways. First, it is limited in sample size, hence we cannot generalise its findings to the region. Future studies embarking on such research endeavours may consider a more representative sample for an in-depth interview-based study. This will not only provide rich and detailed information about the sample, but it will also increase the credibility and validity of the study. Second, the circumstantial exclusion of Tajikistan is another limitation of this study. This evidently limited this study from fully drawing a region-wide conclusion. Hence, we urge future studies to inquire into the perspectives of women political actors in the country. This will ensure that the alternative strategies to increase participation and support for women political actors are implemented. Thirdly, the study adopted an in-depth interview to obtain the perspectives of women in the region; a survey-based study would not only provide a large and diverse sample of women, but its findings would also be quantifiable and statistically analysed. Finally, this data collection modality adopted for this study is another limitation of the study; online data collection was mostly adopted, hence we encourage future studies to adopt a face-to-face interview. This will further enrich through nonverbal cues, cultural insights and improved and more natural rapport.

Beyond the quota systems, actionable and sustainable efforts should be made across levels to prioritise the relearning and unlearning, and normalising of the role of women in political participation in a way that incorporates women in the planning, execution and implementation. Specifically, Central Asian governments should make deliberate efforts to initiate or revise civic education in schools and local organisations, and community actors should design grassroots programs that challenge the status quo and encourage participation amongst women.