A RELIGION NOT MINE: FOUR AUTOETHNOGRAPHIC POEMS ABOUT THE INFLUENCE OF ISLAM ON NON-RELIGIOUS WOMEN IN MUSLIM-DOMINANT KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

These autoethnographic poems reflect how Islamic patriarchal culture influences non-religious women in a Muslim-dominant Kazakhstan. The majority of the country's population identifies itself as Muslim, and the government pursues the traditionalization of values directed at the national revival. The core of this process deals with the re-imagination of the pre-Soviet patriarchal past, with women and men having different roles and statuses. For me, as a Kazakh woman and a citizen of Kazakhstan, not following this process equals being a marginalized minority. In an attempt to address the position of these minorities, I explore Islamic patriarchy's effects on society and women.