She is one of the 1000 women proposed fort the Nobel Peace Price 2005.
Linked with our presentation Public Fund “Kylym shamy”.
She says: « Peace and justice are the two main goals of my life. »
Aziza Abdirasulova – Kyrgyzstan
She works for the Kylym Shamy; and for the Guild of Prisoners of Conscience.
Aziza Abdirasulova (born 1958) is a well-known human rights activist who works on behalf of the citizens of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. She is an advocate for prisoners’ rights and the right to assemble peacefully. Her activity is directed towards the fight against injustice and inequality by means of nonviolent conflict resolution. She works for the sake of justice without a personal or political agenda, and her action is based upon tolerance and transparency. She has worked with a diverse range of people in her country and has earned their trust and respect.
Aziza Abdirasulova is a leader of the human rights organization Guild of Prisoners of Conscience. She was born in the Osh region of Kyrgyzstan. After completing secondary school in 1975, she entered Mayli-Say Electromechanical Technical School, where she graduated in 1978. In 1989 she graduated from Tomsk Engineering Construction Institute and specialized as a construction engineer. She has worked in all aspects of construction engineering. She entered the world of human rights activity in 2000, unable to turn her back on the gross infringements she was witnessing.
Abdirasulova is an upholder of democratic reforms. She believes that the Government is obliged to guarantee its citizens freedom of speech, religion, and political opinion. She considers it unacceptable to imprison people solely because their opinions differ from those in power. She actively opposes the use of torture and violence against prisoners, which is often carried out by police in her country. Abdirasulova discloses these cases to the press and organizes protests against the tortures and beatings. She regularly meets with prisoners and checks living conditions in prisons.
She always tried to help anyone seeking her support. She is a person of strong will and strong character; a bold and audacious woman who is well respected by her peers. Aziza Abdirasulova’s work has proven risky for herself and her close relatives: Since 2000, she has been arrested by militia men eight times and has had cases instituted against her for participation in peaceful pickets, hunger strikes and marches.
In 2002, she carried out protests in support of the Asaba independent newspaper, shut down for criticizing the authorities. Officers of the National Security Service came to her home, questioning her children. That same day, her daughter was knocked down by a car, resulting in multiple fractures. Aziza appealed to the militia. The car number was known but never found. Aziza’s allies believe that this was a vengeful attack on her daughter for her mother’s activism and criticism of the authorities’ infringements of human rights.
On 18 February 2002, after a hunger strike devoted to defense of illegally arrested citizens, she was beaten by two men. Aziza says: “The authorities reveal their weakness when they have to use violence against defenseless women.” Aziza has always been an upholder of peaceful, nonviolent methods of protest and has instructed her supporters never to use violence for the sake of peace.
In 2003, on the eve of the Constitutional referendum, she was visited by police, and her children and neighbors were questioned. Police gave their phone number to all the neighbors with the request that they be informed of Abdirasulova’s activities. The authorities feared that she was organizing a protest against the referendum. She was arrested on 15 April 2004 for monitoring people’s rights to peaceful meetings.
Despite great pressure from the authorities, Abdirasulova never gives up. She believes that helping people is her sacred duty. As a result of her actions, innocent Kyrgyz citizens who had been unfairly sentenced to 16-17 years in prison were released. In 2002, parliamentary deputy Beknazarov was arrested for his criticism of the President’s policy. Abdirasulova organized protests and, as a result, the deputy was acquitted. She fights for each person till the end. Hundreds of people, whom she has helped to avoid imprisonment, beatings and torture, consider her to be their savior. Nevertheless, Abdirasulova believes that she did very little. She would like to be able to help everyone. She attracts people to her, earning their respect and love.
Together with the Fund for International Tolerance, Abdirasulova carried out round table meetings for representatives of civil society, legal defense bodies and state administration to discuss measures to prevent conflicts during pickets, meetings and other types of protest. Abdirasulova considers peaceful methods of protest to be the only way to act. “Each person is entitled to expect justice,” she firmly believes.
links:
an open letter;