Local strategies in globalizing gender politics: Women's organizing in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan1

This research investigates the implications of globalizing gender politics for relations among local women's organizations in and across two Central Asian countries—contemporary Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Globalizing gender politics refers to the growing presence of gender in the discourses and practices of a range of national, international, and transnational actors, working within Western frameworks of development, democratization and civil society. Diverse forms of women's organizing flourish across these countries, influenced by changing gender roles and relations, and by new access to material and discursive resources. Within the milieu of globalizing gender politics, much emphasis has been placed on non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as a result of the recent shift to facilitate bottom-up development. At the same time, these organizations have been stereotyped for their dependence on aid and deference to donors, and their lack of cooperation and collaboration. This suggests a need to explore more deeply diverse forms of women's organizing, beyond a focus on the women's NGO sector as a homogenous body. I parse out layers of this organizing in and across Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Layers emerge as a result of the administration of material and discursive resources of globalizing gender politics, in accordance with assumptions and expectations of localized spaces. Investigating processes of localization allows for a more nuanced understanding of hierarchies and exclusions among diverse women and their organizations.