The current National Action Plan (NAP) focuses on promoting the participation of women and men in conflict prevention and peacebuilding, preventing violence against women and girls, especially in conflict settings, and advancing gender equality through leadership development and gender-responsive budgeting.
Key achievements of the NAP include strengthening the capacities of defense, humanitarian action, and law enforcement sectors. In 2024, a new law was enacted to criminalize domestic violence and enhance protection for survivors. Training programs in 2023 improved the skills of female officers in human security and gender issues. The number of women in leadership positions within the Ministry of Defense doubled since 2022. Additionally, since 2014, 40 Kazakh officers, including six women, have participated in UN missions.
The Ministry of Culture and Information developed a media plan to raise awareness about Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) resolutions. In 2023, it also created guidelines for social workers and other stakeholders to support the rehabilitation of women and children returning from Syria and Iraq.
Gender equality policies/feminist foreign policies
- In 2016, the Concept of Family and Gender Policy was adopted, providing a comprehensive approach to integrating gender equality into all policy documents and decision-making levels.
- On April 15, 2024, a new law was signed to strengthen protections for women, including domestic violence survivors, aiming to advance women’s rights and enhance their safety.
- Kazakhstan ratified key conventions such as CEDAW in 1998, Beijing +25, CPRW, CNMW, and Agenda-2030, and developed policies and frameworks like the Strategy on Gender Equality 2006–2016 and the Concept on Family and Gender Policy 2030 to promote gender equality.
- In 2023, Kazakhstan became a signatory of the Compact on Women, Peace, and Security and Humanitarian Action under the Generation Equality initiative.
- Since 2021, Kazakhstan has joined three Action Coalitions within the Generation Equality initiative: Gender-based violence, Economic justice and rights, and Technology and innovation for gender equality.
Focal Point
Ms. Zhanna Gazizulina – Adviser to the Department of Multilateral Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs