Although the protests were small in scale, activists continue to make strident pleas for President Japarov to address the plight of women and girls in Kyrgyzstan. The gender quota in local ...

She has signed agreements with five traditional craftspeople in Kyrgyzstan for planning and marketing their products. She once took a seven-hour bus ride to hold direct talks with one of her partners.

"Welcome back to Kyrgyzstan," says Shukur Shermatov, addressing a class of 20 women. He is wearing a traditional felt cap, but there is nothing traditional about this school. It sits inside two ...