Watchdog

ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Dozens of activists of Kazakhstan's Oyan, Qazaqstan (Wake Up, Kazakhstan) movement have marched in the Central Asian country's largest city, Almaty, demanding democratic reforms.

The activists' march across major streets in downtown Almaty on August 30, the country's Constitution Day, lasted for almost an hour and ended with a short rally near the building of Opera and Drama Theater.

Police were present at the rallies but refrained from interfering.

The activists held banners saying "Re-Constitution!" and "Parliamentary Republic," and chanted "Wake Up, Kazakhstan!" and "Down with the Authoritarian System!"

They also read aloud parts of Kazakhstan’s constitution about citizens' rights to assembly, freedom of speech, and expression.

In the southern city of Shymkent, about a dozen activists also rallied, challenging the current constitution, which they say has been illegally amended several times since 1993.

They were also holding placards demanding the immediate release of Mukhtar Dzhakishev, the former head of Kazakhstan's nuclear agency, Kazatomprom, who is serving a 14-year prison term for embezzlement, which he denies. Human rights groups in Kazakhstan have called Dzhakishev a political prisoner.

The rallies were the latest in series that has increased in frequency since Kazakhstan's longtime ruler, Nursultan Nazarbaev, abruptly resigned in March and named Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, the chairman of the parliament's upper chamber, the Senate, his successor.

Toqaev formally won election as president on June 9 in a vote that international observers said was marred by the "detention of peaceful protesters, and widespread voting irregularities on election day [that] showed scant respect for democratic standards."

MAGAS, Russia -- Authorities in Russia's mostly Muslim-populated North Caucasus region of Ingushetia have issued a brochure instructing women "to be deferential" to men.

The brochure issued earlier this week by the administration in the regional capital, Magas, gives general instructions to Ingush youth on how to dress and behave in public places.

The brochure is printed in three languages -- Ingush, Russian, and English.

It has already been distributed in Ingushetia and authorities there say it will be handed out to schoolchildren once the new academic year starts on September 1.

The brochure calls on Ingush girls "to remember women's honorable place in Ingush society" and instructs "a woman of any age to defer to a man of any age."

"Women's beauty is shyness, politeness, a calm tone and keeping a distance from strangers. Women cannot shout and laugh loudly in public," the brochure says.

It also says that "a noble Ingush will never leave his house barefoot," and calls it "improper" "to wear tight clothes."

The instructions also say that people must step aside when a person who is at least one day older is walking toward them.

Magas Mayor Beslan Tsechoyev told RFE/RL that the brochure’s text was prepared in consultation with local elders and experts in Ingush traditions. He denied it was discriminatory towards women.

"Women stand up in the presence of men, showing respect to them no matter how old they are. Even a grown-up woman stands up in public and shows respect to a teenage boy," Tsechoyev said.

Human rights groups have said for years that the rights of women are being violated in the North Caucasus.

Local authorities have largely shrugged off such criticism, arguing that local traditions are often at odds with Western values.