Central Asia

Mobile Phones on Wrong Side of Law

A month after legislation outlawing mobile phones in schools and universities came into force in Tajikistan, the ban is looking increasingly like using a hammer to crack a nut.

Kyrgyz NGOs Fear Tougher Legislation

But legislators backing new bill say too many non-profit groups behave like political parties.

Children Drop out of School to Work

Economic pressures are forcing school-age children to drop out of school to take jobs at places like the Dordoi wholesale market outside Bishkek.

Kindergarten Places in Short Supply

Pre-school facilities in Kyrgyzstan are overcrowded, with long waiting lists, Jyldyz Joroeva reports.

Uzbek Football Slow to Raise its Game

Turkmen Media Workers Thirst for Freedom

Disabled Children Missing Out on School

Most disabled children in northern Tajikistan are not getting any schooling, Kamari Ahrorzoda reports.

Poverty Contributes to Filling Female Prisons

Reporter Bibiroka Abdullaeva spend the day at a women’s prison in Nurek, where many of the inmates are there for serious crimes such as murder and drug trafficking.

Domestic Abuse Seen as Socially Acceptable

Reporter Asliddin Ochilov looked at mistreatment of women in the northern city of Khujand, and found that mother-in-laws are often the main culprits.

Fears of Currency Controls in Kazakstan

Experts warn that imposing too many restrictions will simply create a black market in foreign currencies.