Summer is fading winter is coming

Summer is fading winter is coming

In 1997, shortly after Kazakhstan’s independence from the Soviet Union, President Nursultan Nazarbayev moved the country’s capital from Almaty to Astana, the latter being rich in minerals and oil wells. During this shift, Almaty experienced a radical change in terms of population composition. All government offices and activities moved away from the city and with them the workers too. Most men abandoned the city leaving the women behind, making Almaty one the cities with the highest number of females in the entire world. In Almaty, summers are hot and until October trees offer a warm and colorful backdrop; this time of the year is called BAB'E LETO in Russian, literally Old Women’s Summer; its meaning implies something that is already gone and will never come back, just like a summer fading into winter. It evokes those women in their late forties who will never be young and beautiful again, like a blooming flower before withering. Patriarchy is still highly pervasive in the Kazakh culture, especially outside the biggest cities where women conditions are very difficult. They usually get married very young, have many children and don't work in order to fully dedicate themselves to their family. Women can divorce but seldom marry a second time. Almost no women hold senior positions in the country, neither in government nor in the private sector. Almaty is an exception to all this. It is THE CITY OF WOMEN, a place in which BAB'E LETO does not seem to exist. Here, women live a sort of second youth, resistant to the cold winter. This is a story of women, this is a story of female loneliness, this is a story of human strength.
 

by Karl Mancini

In 1997, shortly after Kazakhstan’s independence from the Soviet Union, President Nursultan Nazarbayev moved the country’s capital from Almaty to Astana, the latter being rich in minerals and oil wells. During this shift, Almaty experienced a radical change in terms of population composition. All government offices and activities moved away from the city and with them the workers too. Most men abandoned the city leaving the women behind, making Almaty one the cities with the highest number of females in the entire world. In Almaty, summers are hot and until October trees offer a warm and colorful backdrop; this time of the year is called BAB'E LETO in Russian, literally Old Women’s Summer; its meaning implies something that is already gone and will never come back, just like a summer fading into winter. It evokes those women in their late forties who will never be young and beautiful again, like a blooming flower before withering. Patriarchy is still highly pervasive in the Kazakh culture, especially outside the biggest cities where women conditions are very difficult. They usually get married very young, have many children and don't work in order to fully dedicate themselves to their family. Women can divorce but seldom marry a second time. Almost no women hold senior positions in the country, neither in government nor in the private sector. Almaty is an exception to all this. It is THE CITY OF WOMEN, a place in which BAB'E LETO does not seem to exist. Here, women live a sort of second youth, resistant to the cold winter. This is a story of women, this is a story of female loneliness, this is a story of human strength.
 

Almaty,KZ.  Korlan Rakhmetova is one of the most popular model in Kazakhstan. Born and raised in Almaty, she moved to Rome after spending a couple of years in New York. She's the testimonial of Marie Claire magazine in Kazakhstan. She has worked with the most famous photographers and fashion designers in the world, such as Trussardi, Gucci, Armani, Valentino and Moschino to name a few. Her dream is to start a fashion business in her home country; in particular she plans on creating her own clothing Almaty,KZ. A lesbian couple dance and have fun in one of the many nightclubs in the city where girls are often in clear majority than men. For homosexual couples, the situation is not easy in Central Asia countries. Women use to dance and have fun in one of the many nightclubs in the city where girls are often in clear majority than men Almaty,KZ. M. has a secret abortion few years ago. She never spoke about sex with her family cause sex in Kazakh families is a taboo topic. “It was hard. I had to do everything alone and then I had to remove from my mind those difficult days to live a normal life. if I wanted a normal life, I had no alternative. Years later she married a different man who knows nothing of this closely guarded secret within herself "often a woman speaks with her eyes without anyone who hear or want to hear but we have Almaty,KZ. A curtain closed before the beginning of a show in a night club of the city. Almaty,KZ. Generations of actresses: Farida is a young talented theatrical actress. She dreams of following in the footsteps of the great Rosa Ashelbekova portrayed with her during rehearsals of a show. Her family does not support her career, for this reason, she is funding alone driving it forward together with her financial studies in university. 
Rosa Ashelbekova comes from the North-West region of Kazakhstan. She moved to Almaty 60 years ago and has been working in theater for the past 57 years. She is Almaty,KZ. Rosa Ashelbekova comes from the North-West region of Kazakhstan. She moved to Almaty 60 years ago and has been working in theater for the past 57 years. She is a local theater legend, who has performed on international stages in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Latvia, even at the prestigious Kremlin Theatre in Russia. She holds the title of “Honorary Citizen” of Almaty, the highest title conferred to a woman in Kazakhstan. “Lots of changes have happened in the past few years” she claims, Almaty, Saltanat, 44. She became a widow when her son was only 1. Following her father’s steps, she decided to enter military school. For 23 years she lived and worked in a male-dominated world, which shaped her personality: “I like order. I am strict both at work and at home. I am both a mother and a father. My purpose in life is to teach my son to be fair and honest.” Today Chief of Administration with the Almaty road police, she dreams of finding a man who accepts her for what she is and is willing to Almaty,KZ. Panoramic view from the roof top of a building in a foggy autumnal day Almaty,KZ. Aigul Kulyassova, mother of four, is expecting twins in December. She works from home undertaking administrative tasks for her husband’s company. She is happy about this arrangement as it allows her to dedicate herself to her family. Usually kazakh women got married very young and take care of their children and families. Almaty,KZ. Zhansaya, 15. 4-time chess world champion, she started playing at 6 and won her first tournament at 7. Her favorite city is Singapore and her dream is to become world champion in the senior category. She trains all day to attain this goal. In two years she will be able to join that category, “I love looking my enemy in the eye, it makes me understand them better.” Almaty,KZ. Dameli Sartabayeva, 22. Her name in Kazakh means hope. After the moving to Astana of her father and the following divorce of her parents she lost contact with her father; her mother raised two children alone. Dameli pursued her studies in finance and economics; today she works for a bank and has a lot of dreams: “my mom encouraged me to chase my dreams. Not only did she support me throughout my studies but she let me make my own decisions about life freely. She is my best friend”. After turning Almaty, Gulenka Mussatayeva, 30. “Sometimes I feel I can’t breathe as if I were living underwater, I would like to surface but an unknown force pushes me down”.  She is a painter, performer and a talented artist. Today she is a single woman of 30 years old, a difficult condition for a woman in a patriarchal society like the Kazakh one. Under the water she still has a lot of dreams, dreams she cannot fulfill in Kazakhstan, a country where life is hard for a woman like her. She is planning on moving abroad, Almaty,KZ. a woman shows in one hand a heart -shaped pendant . I remember the love story he had with a man who disappeared after getting her pregnant and never return . she is still waiting for love. Almaty, Oxana, 44. Mother of two. “My biggest strength stemmed from my belief in God” she says, “He gave me the strength to go on”. She became a Christian after the fall of the Soviet Union. She pursued medical studies and worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 5 years. Today she is a businesswoman, she buys and sells activities; thanks to a bank loan she is buying her own flat. She owns a beauty center and is planning on buying a second one. Almaty,KZ. Panoramic vision of a neighborhood on the outskirts of the town in a gray autumn day Almaty,KZ, Actresses are preparing behind the scenes for a show in the opera. Many young women decide to start an artistic carreer sometimes encountering difficulties from family or boyfriends. In the country the situation is less difficult than years ago but the problem still exists, especially away from the cities Almaty,KZ. Rosa Ashelbekova comes from the North-West region of Kazakhstan. She moved to Almaty 60 years ago and has been working in theater for the past 57 years. She is a local theater legend, who has performed on international stages in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Latvia, even at the prestigious Kremlin Theatre in Russia. She holds the title of “Honorary Citizen” of Almaty, the highest title conferred to a woman in Kazakhstan. “Lots of changes have happened in the past few years” she claims, Almaty,KZ. Ainur Yespenova, 30. After completing her studies in psychology, she got married and had two children. She planned on being a good wife and mother but after a few years of dissatisfaction she felt like a ticking bomb ready to explode. So she became a life coach and created her own website “Selfmade.kz”, aiming to give people the opportunity to share their stories. Every month she picks the best ten stories which she shares during a public meeting broadcasted on her YouTube channel. She is Almaty,KZ.  Korlan Rakhmetova is one of the most popular model in Kazakhstan. Born and raised in Almaty, she moved to Rome after spending a couple of years in New York. She's the testimonial of Marie Claire magazine in Kazakhstan. She has worked with the most famous photographers and fashion designers in the world, such as Trussardi, Gucci, Armani, Valentino and Moschino to name a few. Her dream is to start a fashion business in her home country; in particular she plans on creating her own clothing Almaty,KZ. Republika Alany is one of the main squares of the city. Made for the ceremonies in the Soviet era, it has at its center a monument to which the column is topped by a golden copy of man standing on a snow leopard winged. Statues at the base represent a Kazakh family. On the background rise the high snow-capped mountains surrounding the city Almaty,KZ. Aigerim Jumayeva, 27. She is the first and only Kazakh woman working for the UEFA football federation. Her dad is a former football player and she saw her first soccer match with him when she was 3, “I guess it was in my destiny to work in the football industry, even though I had always dreamed to work in an embassy someday, hence my studies in international relations.” Her life-changing experience was when she moved to Poland for school “explaining who is a Kazakh to foreign people helped me Almaty,KZ. Saula , 27 , looks at a window of a men's clothing store in the city center . Left by fellow shortly after giving birth to her daughter , she had to learn soon to be father and mother at the same time Almaty,KZ. Karlygash, 33. She grew up in Shimkent and moved to Almaty to study. Her first job was as a financial accountant “I found it very boring; I have always been into art”. Her life totally changed at the age of 25 when her traditionalist family arranged her marriage to a man she had never met before. She didn’t love him but agreed to do what was asked of her. “The first time was really painful” she recalls, “but I tried to be a good wife and mother for 8 years”. She worked as a decorator and as a Almaty,KZ. A group of women waiting for a public transport in a bus stop. A very common scene on the streets of the city Almaty,KZ. Karlagash, 48. She moved to Almaty as a teenager and studied medicine. Living in the city was expensive, so she worked multiple jobs, including teaching medicine. During the fall of the Soviet Union, her mother died when she was 23. The tragedy made her more responsible and she started an international trade business. She quit medical school but continued to teach. She had never been happier than the day she bought her first flat, even though “the floor was broken and she had no money to repair Almaty,KZ. Panoramic view of a popular district of the city. In the center are visible the axhaust towers of an industry. Air Pollution is a great enviromental problem for the city. Almaty,KZ.  Korlan Rakhmetova is one of the most popular model in Kazakhstan. Born and raised in Almaty, she moved to Rome after spending a couple of years in New York. She's the testimonial of Marie Claire magazine in Kazakhstan. She has worked with the most famous photographers and fashion designers in the world, such as Trussardi, Gucci, Armani, Valentino and Moschino to name a few. Her dream is to start a fashion business in her home country; in particular she plans on creating her own clothing Almaty,KZ. A bride posing for a photo shoot in one of the many city parks . Women from traditional families usually marry between 18 and 23 years. Those who pass the age of 25 and not married are considered by the company stupid or full of problems . for a single woman is not easy to be accepted and generally life is not simple. Almaty,KZ. Leyla’s mother’s lost her husband for a car accident when she was adolescent. She didn’t get married again because of in Kazakh society is not simple and too good for a woman to have a second marriage opposite from men who use to have more marriages without problems. When she was 18 she had a secret abortion. She never spoke about sex with her family cause sex in Kazakh families is a taboo topic. “It was hard. I had to do everything alone and then I had to remove from my mind those difficult days Almaty,KZ. Aisulu is 27 and not yet married. she believes in true love and does not want that the family introduce her a man. She is a graduate engineer and is now working to raise sufficient money to live in the United States. Meanwhile he studies languages and try not to feel the pressure from people who view it because he has a partner. Her dream is to leave the country on next year. Almaty,KZ. A group of women who belong to an association that organizes activities for single women of almaty taking pictures during a mountain hike to the Turgen waterfalls located east of the city near the border with Kyrgyzstan in the Ile-Alatau national park. Almaty,KZ. A girl poses proudly for a photo with the Kazakh flag on the shore of Lake Issyk. This lake, located east of Almaty is a very popular destination for families and groups of young people during the week and the weekends. The peaks of the two highest mountains surrounding the lake are called " Kyzemshek " which means women 's breast because of their form. Almaty,KZ. Panoramic view of the city and the mountains that surround it on south from Kok Tobe. This hill located at the south east of the city is 1,100 meters high and is topped by a television tower 372 meters high. Almaty,KZ. Aizhan divorced some years ago by her husband after he moved to Astana to work and left her. In the weekends she loves to go with her daughter in the Gorky park where, in a sunny day it is possible to rent boats and pedalos to sail in the small lake. lmaty,KZ. Mnaura, 92. She comes from the Ural region in Kazakhstan. She joined the army at 18 and fought for three years during World War II. She got injured and got malaria “it was very hard. I used to sleep a lot and could only wash my face with snow. I did not speak Russian but got a lot of solidarity from the Russian female soldiers.” After the war, she sold her uniform to buy a train ticket to Almaty. She quit the army and became a philosophy teacher and a copy-editor. She adopted a child who is now 49 Almaty,KZ. Women portrayed in a period picture at the time of the Second World War when many were enrolled in the Soviet army and sent to fight on several fronts. Almaty,KZ. Gulnar. She works with the Women Association of South Kazakhstan, an organization who provides educational assistance to single women and mothers. Their goal is to educate young women in several fields: finance, politics, handcraft, tourism, social issues, health and sanitation (including HIV awareness and smoking prevention). “Family and work are the most important things in a woman’s life in Kazakhstan” she says, “without a job, a woman doesn’t feel fulfilled in this country.” Before joining Almaty, Raikhan, 57. Mother of four, she became a widow when she was pregnant with her youngest son. Despite raising her children alone, she has become the Chief Executive Manager at a plastic company. “I work with materials, metals and men every day. I know their weaknesses and sometimes, during a negotiation, I become like a man.” She helps companies in crisis to avoid bankruptcy. She is due to retire next year and has a lot of plans, which include helping out her daughter with her business, a candy shop. Almaty,KZ. A cold wind moves the plastic sheeting on the exterior walls of an abandoned construction site Almaty,KZ.  Aigul. “When I was a child and I happened to hold a pencil I would start drawing, but my parents were economists and did not understand my passion for art and didn’t want me to become an artist.” Her grandmother, though, was a poetess and put her soul and heart into her artistic development. Many years later, Aigul’s parents finally saw her paintings at one of her exhibitions. They cried, but did not say a word. “My life is a fight. It is tough to be a woman, an artist and a single mother in Almaty, KZ. some km north from the city lakes and river are still frozen. Winter comes in October and snow cover the colors of the trees , the houses bringing temperatures many degrees below zero for several months Almaty, Martisha like many other Kazakh girls has mixed somatic traits, inherited by her parents’ different heritages. Her father is Russian, he left her mother to work in Astana and subsequently moved to Moscow.  Martisha grew up with her mother who is her best friend and the person she admires the most in the world. She would like to move to India and open a Yoga center and a cultural center for women. Almaty,KZ. Dameli Sartabayeva, 22. Her name in Kazakh means hope. After the moving to Astana of her father and the following divorce of her parents she lost contact with her father; her mother raised two children alone. Dameli pursued her studies in finance and economics; today she works for a bank and has a lot of dreams: “my mom encouraged me to chase my dreams. Not only did she support me throughout my studies but she let me make my own decisions about life freely. She is my best friend”. After turning Almaty,KZ. Sunset on a cold autumnal day in a courtyard of Almaty Almaty,KZ. Wedding celebrations can last days. Relatives visiting the home of the couple carrying presents. women are responsible for opening them and show them to the guests while men gathered in another room to smoke and drink together Almaty,KZ. Night vision of one of the many buildings in Soviet style that are still present in the city . the lights enhance the colors of the curtains in the windows