Born in 1986 in the village of Konorchok, she is married and is a mother of five children. Due to the lack of job opportunities in her village, Nazgul decided to purchase a 1977 model VAZ 2101 car for 30,000 soms to earn extra income.
“I learned to drive when I worked at a car wash in the city. Job opportunities in the village are extremely limited, and prices for everything have risen significantly. My husband also works for hire. My first husband passed away, and now I live with my second husband. We have four sons and one daughter. Unfortunately, in the spring, we lost one of our sons. We receive disability benefits for one of the children and a pension for another. Previously, I received benefits for all the children, but last year this was stopped under the 'social contract,' and instead, I was given 100,000 soms, with which we bought eight lambs. With this amount, you can't buy much. That’s why I started working as a taxi driver, hoping to earn enough to cover daily expenses,” Nazgul shared.
As she recounted, at the beginning of her career, other taxi drivers were not very welcoming to her.
“At first, the public received me well, as I offered services for 80 soms per trip around the village, while many other drivers charged 100-150 soms. Some disapproved of me for lowering the price. But the clients supported me, and I am very glad about that. At the moment, I have many regular clients. This job is certainly not easy for women, but I have already gotten used to it. On a good day, I earn between 600 to 1000 soms, and in worse times – about 300 soms. For this, I am very grateful. I don’t do anything else besides taxi driving and household chores. My old car often breaks down, and this creates difficulties. I dream of a new car, but there are not enough funds. In case of a breakdown, Bakyt Orozbaev helps me, and I can change the tires myself,” she noted.
Nazgul also recalled a few amusing incidents from her practice:
“My first working day is memorable due to an unusual situation. I picked up passengers and couldn’t turn around; I was looking for a suitable place to maneuver, having driven an entire block.
Once, when I was driving from the district center Bayetov, I was stopped by traffic safety department officers and asked to show my documents. I just laughed, and they asked me why I was laughing. I didn’t have the documents for the car ready yet. I admitted that I didn’t have them. They said they would take the car to the impound lot. I kept laughing. When one of the inspectors was about to get into the car, my five-year-old daughter wouldn’t let him do that and asked him ‘not to delay mom.’ The officers, seeing the situation, decided not to take the car and let us go. I apologized and drove on,” she recounted.
The project “Strengthening Social Assistance and Labor Market Programs,” funded by the International Development Association with a loan of $30 million, aims to minimize the impact of the economic crisis on the purchasing power of families. It provides temporary assistance to families in difficult circumstances and creates opportunities for employment and income generation. The project also includes structural measures to strengthen the social protection system, which should improve the quality of support for vulnerable groups and help young people find work.
The loan is provided for 50 years at zero interest.
The social contract strategy is aimed at low-income families across the republic and in Bishkek (recipients of “uy-bulogo komok”). Previously, the assistance amounted to 100,000 soms, and it has now been increased to 150,000 soms.
