The project aims to emphasize the importance of family values and showcase the talents and beauty of married women. One of the heroines is 25-year-old Ainura Kanatbekova, who lives in the village of Toguz-Bulak in the Ton district and enjoys horseback riding and volleyball.
In a conversation with a Turmush correspondent, Ainura shared that she is originally from the village of Tört-Kül, located in the Ton district of the Issyk-Kul region, where she was born in 2001. After getting married, she moved to Toguz-Bulak.
“I am on maternity leave, and I have a son and a daughter,” she clarified.
Ainura has a secondary education, having completed 11 grades, and got married at the age of 18.
She met her future husband Nursultan Nasirdinov, who is now 30 years old and also from Toguz-Bulak, at a market in Novosibirsk, Russia, where they both worked in trade. “He was fascinated by my photos and videos with horses,” she added. Nursultan proposed to her on the roof of a high-rise building in Novosibirsk. At first, they communicated as fellow countrymen, and then he asked for her hand in marriage.
“Every day with him is filled with joy. He has a great sense of humor, he has never hurt me, and he always supports me. He even gets happy when I practice volleyball or ride horses. If he sees a beautiful horse, he always says, ‘Look at that worthy horse, will you ride it?’ Even if the horse is unruly, he supports me and tells me not to be afraid,” Ainura shared.
“We don’t face any particular difficulties in life — we live peacefully. If we want to go to the village, we go; if we decide to engage in livestock farming, we do. We returned from Russia, had a wedding, and stayed here. A year later, my husband decided to become a shepherd, and I didn’t mind. We grazed cattle together and went to the jailoo, but we realized that we weren’t ready for the life of shepherds yet. Then we tried living in Bishkek for about a year, but it didn’t work out there either. Now we have settled in the village,” she added.
Ainura also noted that there is a friendly volleyball team in the Ton district, consisting of daughters-in-law from seven neighboring villages, who gather together every month for games.
Since childhood, Ainura has had a close connection with horses, as her grandfather was engaged in livestock farming. She recounted, “During school holidays at the jailoo, I participated in the game ‘kız kuumay.’ My older brothers taught me to ride even the most difficult horses from an early age. I am not afraid of any horse and know how to gallop. My love for horses is boundless. We keep two to three purebred horses, and my husband participates in the ulak game in our village.”
“In my free time, I prefer to spend it near the horses in the yard,” Ainura added.
