Female activists in four major cities in Kazakhstan have taken to the streets to protest the government’s ongoing program to gradually raise the retirement age for women in the Central Asian nation.
Dozens of activists in Nur-Sultan, the capital; Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty; as well in the northwestern city of Aqtobe and southern city of Shymkent rallied on August 29, holding posters saying: "Targeting Women's Retirement Age Only Violates The Constitution," "Get Back To 58 As The Retirement Age For Women," andm "You Raise The Retirement Age, What About Jobs?"
The Kazakh government is moving to gradually raise the age of retirement for women from 58 to 63 -- which is the retirement age for men – by 2027.
Right now, the retirement age for women has been bumped up from 58 to 60 1/2.
In Nur-Sultan, where an estimated 100 gathered for what was the largest of the rallies, representatives of the Aq Zhol (Bright Path) party and The People's Party of Kazakhstan met with protesters and promised to raise the issue at an upcoming session of parliament.
The rallies, organized by the Women's Movement of Kazakhstan, were officially sanctioned by local authorities. Similar actions were held earlier this year in several other cities across the country.
The government’s 2018 move to gradually bring the retirement age of women to that of men's has been extremely unpopular in Kazakh society.
In May, amid growing protests over the move, Deputy Prime Minister Eraly Toqzhanov said publicly that the government was working on lowering the retirement age for women working in specific sectors of the economy.