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Gender in Central Asia, Paris, June 4

Posted by: Lucia Direnberger

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

Supported 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:

Lucia DIRENBERGER, Université Paris Diderot, CSPRP, CEDREF, IEC:
lucia.direnberger@gmail.com

Anna JARRY-OMAROVA, PhD in Sociology, EHESS, CEDREF: anna.jarry@free.fr

Iman KARZABI, Science Po, CERI, IEC: iman.karzabi@gmail.com

This conference-workshop will be held on Monday, June 4, 2012. This
event will be an excellent opportunity to create a network of
researchers working on subjects related to gender in Central Asia.