to a special form of male and female conformism, a
double standard between Russified norms of
behavior at work and in social spaces, but the
observation of traditional norms of behavior
within the family and in personal relationships
between men and women.
Mass communication has had an enormous in-
fluence on gender socialization. In the post-Soviet
period Muslim ideology and the formation of a
model Muslim woman are furthered through the
mass media, literature, and art. Secular publica-
tions portray a synthesis of the stereotype of the
new Central Asian woman, a blend of wife and
mother with worker. There is also an element
entirely new to the Central Asian mentality, namely
public sexuality. Advertisements for cosmetics and
clothing and the arrival of beauty contests create a
feminine ideal through the female body.
The socioeconomic crisis and the influence of
globalization in the post-Soviet period have weak-
ened the role of male as provider. More women
must become full- or part-time providers for their
families. This, of course, changes traditional con-
cepts of masculinity and femininity (Kasymova
2002). The working woman who feeds her family
will spend the greater part of her day at work and
she will go on business trips, while the husband
remains at home and takes care of the children
and the household. These changes create external
and internal conflicts evidenced by discrimination
toward women. Domestic violence, sexual abuse at
work and in social places increase the vulnerability
of Muslim women. These factors contribute to
deviant behavior by women, such as prostitution,
illegal business undertakings, and suicide. Female
self-immolation is observed mainly in Tajikistan
and Uzbekistan. These tendencies are present not
only in the cities but in rural areas through Central
Asia (Tabyshalieva 1998).
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Russian], Bishkek 1995.Sofia KasymovaIran and AfghanistanGirl children are socialized into sex segregation,
dependency, lack of authority, and severely limited
access to resources through example, admonition,
contradictory gender messages, stories, heavy de-
mands, and violence (especially in Afghanistan).
In popular gender ideology girls differ from boys
and have contradictory characteristics: infant girls
need more food (are weaned later) but older girls
need less food; girls are smaller and weaker yet
more resilient; better tempered yet fickle; more
emotional yet secretive; sweeter yet valued less
although fathers can sell them for a bride price,
especially in Afghanistan; and frail yet hard work-
ing. Their reason (≠aql) is firmer (they assume
responsibilities earlier than boys), yet women’s rea-
son is weaker than men’s. As part of their father’s
kin group, their loyalty is challenged after mar-
riage. These purported differences within the gender
hierarchy, authoritarian relationships (responsibil-
ity from men downwards, obedience upwards to
men), and patrilineality with preference for male
children account for differences in socialization.
They also lead to benign and explicit neglect of
girls, including differential access to food, health
care and schooling, and to traffic in children (in
Afghanistan). Population statistics suggest a gender
imbalance favoring males in Iran, but figures are
unreliable.
A girl’s beauty is praised yet girls hear that their
attractiveness threatens men. Even female toddlers
are told to be modest (be well covered, sit with
folded legs, not laugh or speak in front of men).
Girls are told to trust male relatives yet also to per-
ceive men as threats (like wolves) and to be suspi-
cious of them. The avoidance of unwanted male
attention and aggression is a major concern, and
girls admonish and chaperone each other and avoid
public spaces, especially in Afghanistan. Until the
age of about six, they can appear in public bare-
headed; later, modesty dictates attire ranging from
colorful head-scarf and short, tight coat over jeans
in cities in Iran today to the all-encompassing veil
almost everywhere in Afghanistan. In Iran, some
young urban women date men (especially on the