Nurzat was born in 2001 in Osh and currently resides in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.
“I am the eldest of three children in my family and I am a primary school teacher by profession. My travels abroad began in 2019 when I went to the Krasnoyarsk Krai in Russia. The trip was personal; I was visiting relatives, but I ended up staying there for six months due to quarantine. I felt uncomfortable just sitting at home, so I started working part-time,” Nurzat shares.
Her first work experience was potato harvesting in the fields, where payment depended on the amount of work done. “I was surprised when I realized that I was picking potatoes faster than some guys and earning more,” she recalls.
Nurzat also planned a trip to Germany for strawberry picking but faced refusals from visa companies, which deemed her unsuitable for the job. “I dreamed of traveling and seeing the world,” she adds.
After returning to Kyrgyzstan and obtaining her diploma, Nurzat did not work in her field. In 2023, she went to Moscow again, where she spent two years as a migrant. She also visited Murmansk, known for its seaport and Northern Lights. “We often saw whales, reindeer, and bears,” Nurzat shares her memories.
Currently, Nurzat works in Riyadh, providing eyebrow shaping and eyelash extension services.
“There are no familiar four seasons here. The summer is hot, and in winter, the temperature stays around +25…+30 degrees. In summer, thermometers can show up to +55,” she says.
Nurzat notes that Saudi Arabia is rich in oil, and salaries are high, but the laws are very strict. “The life of women in the country heavily depends on social and religious norms. Clothing must be modest, and there is strict order in public behavior. However, recent years have brought changes — women have gained more rights to work, drive cars, and start businesses,” she comments.
The country is governed by a monarch, and the legislation is based on Sharia, which gives religion significant influence over the lives of citizens. Nurzat has not yet encountered anything that has upset her greatly.
She also shared interesting incidents that occurred in her life abroad. “When I first arrived, I found it amusing to hear the local English accent. One day, I decided to take a walk in my neighborhood and entered a building that looked like a shopping center. Inside, I saw many people in white coats and smelled something reminiscent of a hospital. The guard asked for my passport and said it was a library. I thought it was a laboratory, so I quickly left,” Nurzat laughs.
She notes that women in Saudi Arabia grow up in conditions where they are pampered and respected. “Men fulfill their wishes, so some women can be capricious, resembling ‘princesses’ from cartoons. The state supports them, and many Arab women live like princesses, having household helpers,” she explains.
However, not all families are well-off, and there are different income levels among Arabs. Nurzat points out that the beauty industry in the country is just beginning to develop, and many clients do not know how to lie properly during procedures.
In Riyadh, there are many women and girls from the Philippines, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, and Nurzat says that sometimes Arab women impose strict requirements on them and even delay payments. Despite this, many newcomers are happy to receive even less than promised and continue to work.
“People sometimes ask me where I am from, as I don’t look like a Filipina because of my hijab, but I also don’t resemble a Russian. Kyrgyz people have their own character: if we are not paid, we can remove what we have done,” Nurzat shares.
Nurzat plans to find her love, start a family, and become a mother of many children. In her free time, she engages in sports, swims, and plays the komuz.
