Kazakhstan ranks 75 in list of world's best countries for women 2024
In the recently unveiled ranking by CEOWORLD Magazine, Kazakhstan has placed 75 with the score of 77.42 among the world's best countries for women in 2024. The comprehensive analysis took into consideration various parameters such as women's safety, gender equality, healthcare, and education, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
The rankings revealed that Kazakhstan surpassed the neighboring countries, such as Kyrgyzstan (97th), Tajikistan (98th), Uzbekistan (108th). Even China with the score of 74.13 placed 95, which is equal to 20 positions difference. Neighboring Kazakhstan's 75th placement, places 74 and 76 were taken by Bahamas and Jamaica, respectively.
The most prominent issues in Kazakhstan regarding women’s and children’s safety are domestic and sexual violence. Recently, on April 15, the Head of State signed a new law criminalizing domestic violence and introducing harsher punishments regarding the violent acts. The law marked a significant social change in ensuring safety for women and children is also known as Saltanat’s law as it was motivated by the #ForSaltanat movement.
Back in November of 2023, Saltanat Nukenova was found dead in a restaurant owned by her husband, former economy minister and businessman, Kuandyk Bishimbayev. Currently, citizens of Kazakhstan are closely monitoring the process of the murder trial, which has sparked the movement #ForSaltanat and creation of the petition, ultimately motivating harsher criminalization of domestic violence with Saltanat's law.
A study supported by UN Women in 2018 revealed that approximately 400 women succumb to domestic violence annually in Kazakhstan, with many instances remaining unreported. In 2017, Kazakhstan amended its legislation, decriminalizing certain acts causing "minor" physical harm, resulting in penalties limited to fines or brief imprisonment. Now, intentional infliction of harm of moderate severity, for example, is punishable by 2 year imprisonment, compared to the previous possibility of a fine or 600 hours of community service.
According to the ranking, the Netherlands is the leading global destination for women. Following closely behind were Norway and Sweden in second and third positions, with Denmark securing the fourth spot. Eight of the top ten countries hailed from Europe, including Finland at fifth place, Switzerland at seventh, France at ninth, and Germany rounding off the list at tenth. Canada and New Zealand also earned spots on the list, ranking sixth and eighth, respectively.
Geneva Times published an article by the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Artur Lastaev, about a special report on combating domestic violence. Lastaev emphasized that protection from domestic violence is a priority task of the state, violating not only human rights, but also the institution of family and social values.
“In 2023, we held an International Scientific and Practical Conference on the topic of combating domestic violence. As a result of the event, a package of legislative amendments was formed and sent to Parliament. In particular, it was proposed to criminalize causing minor harm to health and battery, and create a database of complaints about domestic violence in all authorized bodies. Most of the amendments were included in the law signed by the Head of State on ensuring the rights of women and the safety of children,” reads Lastaev’s article for the Geneva Times.
Lastaev spoke about the conference his office held and the report he prepared proposing legislative changes included in the adopted law. The report provides an additional analytical tool for combating domestic violence and assessing the effectiveness of measures to protect victims.
