Since the fall of the Taliban and the establishment of the government of President Hamid Karzai, Afghan women have become a significant presence on the country's political and social stages. That was made evident in December, when 68 women took their seats as deputies in the lower house of Afghanistan's new parliament. Seventeen women will also sit in the upper house. Women still have trouble participating as equals in all spheres of the country's social and political life, but progress is being made. RFE/RL spoke with a number of Afghan women in positions of influence.
Since Kazakhstan ratified a UN convention to combat sexual discrimination, some powerful women have emerged in a number of traditionally male-dominated fields.
Gender stereotypes and discriminatory legislation continue to hinder women's ability to pursue careers in politics, business, and many other fields. Nonetheless, hope remains.
The outside world has viewed Central Asia primarily through the prism of geopolitics at least since the 19th century. 2005 provided plenty of grist for the geopolitical mill.
The spaceship was launched from Kazakhstan (RFE/RL) 28 December 2005 -- Europe has launched the first test spacecraft of its Galileo satellite navigation system.
28 December 2005 -- Kazakhstan's lower house of parliament, or Majlis, approved a bill today that would amnesty about 14,000 prisoners.
Incoherent legislation continues to expose migrants and asylum seekers to exploitation, bribery, and violence in the former Soviet Union. Those who try to enter the EU often end up in abuse-plagued detention centers.
Name: Gozel Kulzhanova
Name: Saltanat Rakhymbekova
(RFE/RL) 26 December 2005 -- Azerbaijan's state carrier has suspended flights by its one remaining Ukrainian-made An-140 plane.
Galymzhan Zhaqiyanov and his wife (file photo) (RFE/RL) 26 December 2005 -- A prosecutor in Kazakhstan has appealed a court ruling to grant early release to a jailed opposition leader.
The Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan (file photo) (AFP) 25 December 2005 -- A Russian Proton-K rocket blasted off from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan today carrying three navigation satellites.
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