If you want to promote your blog, don't rule out stripping on camera. That's exactly what prominent Kazakh journalist Gulzhan Ergalieva has done.
Ergalieva recently stepped down as the chief editor of a Kazakh newspaper, "Svoboda Slova," which has been critical of the government. She said that her resignation was motivated by the campaign for a referendum to prolong Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev's term in office until 2020.
Ergalieva is known as a crusading opposition-minded journalist. In 2001, masked men broke into her home before tying her up and beating her. Her husband was tortured, leaving him handicapped. The assailants were never found.
Ergalieva is known as a crusading opposition-minded journalist. In 2001, masked men broke into her home before tying her up and beating her. Her husband was tortured, leaving him handicapped. The assailants were never found.
So to promote her new website, she decided to take off her clothes. (Video above. It's probably just about safe-for-work, although best not to watch it when you have a visiting delegation behind you.) Her campaign is called, " The Naked Truth Is Better Than A Dressed-Up Lie."
The reactions in the Kazakh blogosphere have been mixed. Here is a sample from our Kazakh Service:
The reactions in the Kazakh blogosphere have been mixed. Here is a sample from our Kazakh Service:
"You are almost 60, how on earth could you take off your clothes in front of all of us? What kind of example are you setting for your children?"
"I think it would be better if you wore hijab and nikab when promoting your new project. Stripteases and drinking are everyday norms in our lives and wearing a hijab would probably attract more attention as something unusual in our country."
" Gulzhan, how can you consider yourself a Kazakh lady after you've shown your naked body to everyone? It is a shame. If you have three grandchildren, as you say, what they are feeling now, I wonder?"