As the crisis in Kyrgyzstan continues to escalate, and news reports continue to pour in of the deaths and protests, we just heard word from two of our Kyrgyz sisters – Nurgul Djanaeva, Global Fund Board member and head of grantee partner, Forum for Women’s NGOs in Kyrgyzstan and advisor Anna Kirey, who works with Labrys, an LBT shelter in the country. Read their email updates to the Global Fund’s ECIS team (addressed to ECIS Program Director Angelika Arutyunova):

Email from Nurgul Djanaeva:

As the crisis in Kyrgyzstan continues to escalate, and news reports continue to pour in of the deaths and protests, we just heard word from two of our Kyrgyz sisters – Nurgul Djanaeva, Global Fund Board member and head of grantee partner, Forum for Women’s NGOs in Kyrgyzstan and advisor Anna Kirey, who works with Labrys, an LGBT shelter in the country. Read their email updates to the Global Fund for Women, addressed to our ECIS Program Director Angelika Arutyunova.

Email from Nurgul Djanaeva:

By Ofa Guttenbeil

Can you imagine your average Tongan male responding as an advocate for women’s human rights to sexist jokes at the kava circle, or writing letters to the editor on issues that challenge the negative way society thinks and behaves towards rape and sexual assault cases, or simply accepting his wife or girlfriend as an equal and genuinely believing that in God’s eyes, we are all equal?