Almira Abidinova is a social media editor for the Ferghana Valley Bureau of RFE/RL, based in Osh, Kyrgyzstan.
Intricate woolen carpets made in western Kyrgyzstan's Leilek district stand out as a unique regional art form in the one of the country's most remote regions, where there are few opportunities for local women. With the help of online marketing, the carpets showcase the country's traditional culture.
A 21-year-old Kyrgyz woman has established a yurt camp at the base of the 7,000-meter Lenin Peak, which has gained popularity among foreign tourists. Inspired by her interactions with international visitors during her childhood, Gulburak Begmataeva decided to launch her own yurt camp.
For 40 years, Abdymalik Tolonbaev has cleared heavy snowfall and avalanches to keep a dangerous mountain road open in Kyrgyzstan’s Alaiku district. The remote area is nestled in the high peaks of Kyrgyzstan and the precarious route provides a lifeline to some 20,000 local residents.
Bahrom Azimov writes love songs in Uzbek that are now being translated and enjoyed across Central Asia. Many prominent singers in the region are performing songs composed by this ethnic Uzbek from Kyrgyzstan.
Setora Sultanova has been playing soccer for over 10 years in Osh, in southern Kyrgyzstan. "Here there's this mentality: You're a girl, you can't play," she says, but she continued after marrying and having a baby. She dreams of setting up a female soccer academy.
Inobatkhon Sultanova, 22, goes on marches in defense of women's rights in Kyrgyzstan, helps young women and girls defend their choices, and wants to create her own feminist organization in the Kyrgyz city of Osh.
