BISHKEK -- Hundreds of activists in Kyrgyzstan -- which the United Nations has chided for having issues with gender-based violence -- have rallied to demand equal rights for women as they mark International Women's Day.
The demonstrators, who gathered near the Sports Palace in the center of the capital, Bishkek, on March 8 and marched to the monument of Urkia Salieva, a figure of female emancipation in the Central Asian country, held posters with slogans such as "Free woman means prosperous Kyrgyzstan," "Boss, hands off my body," and "We don't need your flowers, we need rights!"
The activists demanded the government set up a national plan on measures to stop domestic violence and bride snatching, toughen punishment for violence against women, establish special state-sponsored crisis centers in each district of the country, and tighten legislation securing education and medical services for all girls and women.
Police accompanied the march but did not interfere.
The march was organized by the Bishkek Female Initiatives group. Mostly peaceful marches demanding rights for women have been held in the Kyrgyz capital on March 8 for several years.
The country has witnessed several deadly, high-profile cases of bride snatching and domestic violence in recent years. The Interior Ministry says more than 10,000 cases of domestic violence against women are registered officially each year.
SEE ALSO: Kyrgyzstan's Rising Domestic Abuse Figures Are Just The Tip Of The Iceberg, As Many Cases Go UnreportedLast year, the United Nations called on Kyrgyzstan to intensify its curbing of violence against women and girls, saying that despite recent efforts made by the state to promote gender equality, perpetrators of violence against women and girls continued to enjoy impunity.
In neighboring Kazakhstan, hundreds of men and women rallied in Mahatma Gandhi Park in the country's largest city, Almaty, on March 8 demanding women's right to be respected and an end to violence against them.
In another rally in Almaty, dozens of women demanded a lowering of the retirement age for women to 58 years from 63 and a nationwide mass amnesty for women serving prison terms for various crimes, including excessive self-defense.