The girls returned home thanks to the intervention of the ombudsman
The young women, including a minor, returned to Kyrgyzstan after the intervention of the KR Ombudsman Jamilia Jamangbaeva, when they were being held in Kazakhstan under conditions of labor migration.
According to the ombudsman's press service, in early October, a woman from the Kara-Suu district of the Osh region named M.S.Z. appealed to the ombudsman for help in returning her two daughters, who had been working in the neighboring country for a year and a half.
The mother stated that in March 2024, a citizen named K.K. took her daughters, who were 16 and 18 years old at the time, to Shymkent, promising them employment and care. However, upon arrival, the girls began to complain that they were being beaten and forced to work late into the night.
“They worked for two sisters at the market, and after that, they had to carry heavy bags in a warehouse. They were treated like slaves. When the girls expressed their desire to leave, they were beaten. I called and demanded the return of my daughters, but K.K. replied that we had an agreement for three years,” the woman shared, adding that the daughters' documents were taken away.
“Without documents, they couldn’t escape. My girls couldn’t take it anymore and said, ‘If you don’t take us back, we will jump out of the third-floor window,’” the mother recalls.
The ombudsman sent official letters to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to assist in the prompt return of Kyrgyz citizens to their homeland.
As a result of the joint efforts of the General Consulate of Kyrgyzstan in Almaty and the Kyrgyz diaspora, the girls were found in Shymkent. Since they had violated Kazakhstan's migration laws, their case was heard in court in Kordai, and on October 13, they returned to Kyrgyzstan and were handed over to their mother,” the press service reported.
The ombudsman emphasized that according to the KR Code on Children, it is prohibited to engage children in labor, coerce them to work, and force them to lift heavy loads beyond established norms.
Photo www
