WOMEN IN KYRGYZ FAMILY AND SOCIAL - CULTURAL LIFE

Abstract

Culture is a society’s past, present and future. It is the accumulation of the society’s experiences. It is an undeniable fact that as part of society, women are important for the continuity of this accumulation from generation to generations. Women ensure the continuity of their culture with the meals they cook, with the henna they apply to the hands of a bride and with the lullabies they sing for their grandchildren, without realizing it. From this perspective, lifestyle and culture have caused women to take on various roles in both family and social life. Women are mothers, brides, daughters and wives in the family life, and they have various attitudes and stances with their style of dressing and marital status in social life. In many cultures, women are considered responsible for cooking, domestic labor and childcare, and within the framework of this understanding, the boundaries of women’s world are drawn. Various social movements for women in world history have attempted to break these boundaries, change perceptions and thoughts about women and enable them to actively participate in social life. In Turkish culture, women are valued in the family and in society. Turkish cultural history shows that women have had a say in the government and are considered important. Kyrgyz women have several roles in Kyrgyz social and cultural life. They have duties to their children as mothers, to their husbands as spouses and to other family members as senior family members. This study will describe perceptions of and attitudes towards Kyrgyz women, their status in social and cultural life and their roles as spouses, mothers, daughters and senior family members.

Keywords

• culture
• women
• kyrgyz
• society
• life.