The Fourth Central Asia Fellowship Seminar

11:00am Opening Remarks
Marlene Laruelle (Central Asia Program, IERES, GWU) and Chantal De Jonge Oudraat (Women in International Security, WIIS)

11:15am Natalia Zakharchenko (Kyrgyzstan) 

Quotes on Quotas: Political Representation of Women in Kyrgyzstan

Discussant: Christina Fink (George Washington University)

11:45 Marina Kayumova (Uzbekistan)

Emigration of “Crème de la crème” in Uzbekistan. Long-term consequences from a gender perspective

Discussant: Daina Eglitis (George Washington University)

12:15pm Rashid Gabdulhakov (Uzbekistan)

Territorial enclaves of the Ferghana Valley: Do good fences make good neighbors?

Discussant: David Abramson (State Department)

12:45 Discussion

13:30 Lunch

Rashid Gabdulhakov (Uzbekistan) is a Political Science instructor at the International University of Central Asia in the Kyrgyz Republic. Rashid has received his BA in International Relations from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington state, USA. After graduation, he returned to Uzbekistan and worked with UN Volunteers in Tashkent.  In 2012, Rashid went on to receive his Masters Degree in Politics and Security from the OSCE Academy in Bishkek. During his studies at the OSCE Academy he continued working with various UN agencies and conducted research on geographical enclaves in post-Soviet Central Asia.

Natalia Zakharchenko (Kyrgyzstan)  is an alumni of the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 2012.  She is currently working as an analyst for the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. Previously, Natalia worked as a Junior Professional Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic and completed her research fellowship at Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. She has several publications on migration in Kyrgyzstan and water management in Central Asia. At the moment, Natalia is involved into the research on gender quotas and its impact on women’s political empowerment in Kyrgyzstan. During her stay in DC Natalia will work on “Globalizing the Gender Quota? Women in Power in Central Asia.”

Marina Kayumova (Uzbekistan) has considerable international work experience, during which she was exposed to a variety of projects within public and private sectors. Her previous assignments include work in GSM Association, European Parliament and Patent Office. She has also worked as a strategy consultant for SMEs. Marina holds MPhil degree in Innovation, Strategy and Organisation from the University of Cambridge and BA from the University of Westminster. She also received Masters in International Relations from the European Institute, where she explored EU-Russia and Central Asia relations in the domain of energy cooperation. During her stay in DC Marina will work on “Brain Drain of ‘Creme de la Creme’ in Uzbekistan: Long-term consequences.”