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Identity as a strategic resource: a study on alternative gender NGOs in Kyrgyzstan

Sörnmo, Gustaf LU (2013) UTVK02 20122
Department of Human Geography
Abstract (Swedish)
Since national independence many NGOs active in the domain of gender have been established in Kyrgyzstan. Recently, this part of the NGO sector has seen the emergence of alternative organizations, voicing new issues and perspectives. In this thesis, I take a closer look at these new actors: how they differ from the older generation and also in relation to each other. I am especially interested in their understanding of local identities and how identity is utilized as a strategic resource in forwarding progressive gender agendas within the national context. I do this in four different NGOs, qualifying as ”alternative”. Data for
the thesis were collected during fieldwork in Bishkek, with semi-structured interviews and multi-methodological... (More)
Since national independence many NGOs active in the domain of gender have been established in Kyrgyzstan. Recently, this part of the NGO sector has seen the emergence of alternative organizations, voicing new issues and perspectives. In this thesis, I take a closer look at these new actors: how they differ from the older generation and also in relation to each other. I am especially interested in their understanding of local identities and how identity is utilized as a strategic resource in forwarding progressive gender agendas within the national context. I do this in four different NGOs, qualifying as ”alternative”. Data for
the thesis were collected during fieldwork in Bishkek, with semi-structured interviews and multi-methodological case studies being the main methods. In my findings, I argue that there are several reasons to view Kyrgyzstani gender-NGO sector as dual. I conclude that the differences among the alternative organizations are mostly a matter of diverging strategies and forms of interventions, while they, on the level of ideology, identity mobilization and gender understandings, are relatively congruent. More often than not, the inherent potential of alternative organizations complementing and strengthening each other is high – to the point of functioning as a unified actor jointly advancing gender-progressive agendas in
Kyrgyzstan. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Sörnmo, Gustaf LU
supervisor
organization
course
UTVK02 20122
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Identity, Intersectionality, NGO sector, gender, Kyrgyzstan
language
English
id
4000971
date added to LUP
2013-11-11 11:32:03
date last changed
2013-11-11 11:32:03
@misc{4000971,
  abstract     = {{Since national independence many NGOs active in the domain of gender have been established in Kyrgyzstan. Recently, this part of the NGO sector has seen the emergence of alternative organizations, voicing new issues and perspectives. In this thesis, I take a closer look at these new actors: how they differ from the older generation and also in relation to each other. I am especially interested in their understanding of local identities and how identity is utilized as a strategic resource in forwarding progressive gender agendas within the national context. I do this in four different NGOs, qualifying as ”alternative”. Data for
the thesis were collected during fieldwork in Bishkek, with semi-structured interviews and multi-methodological case studies being the main methods. In my findings, I argue that there are several reasons to view Kyrgyzstani gender-NGO sector as dual. I conclude that the differences among the alternative organizations are mostly a matter of diverging strategies and forms of interventions, while they, on the level of ideology, identity mobilization and gender understandings, are relatively congruent. More often than not, the inherent potential of alternative organizations complementing and strengthening each other is high – to the point of functioning as a unified actor jointly advancing gender-progressive agendas in
Kyrgyzstan.}},
  author       = {{Sörnmo, Gustaf}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Identity as a strategic resource: a study on alternative gender NGOs in Kyrgyzstan}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}