Youngest Kazakh MP: An inclusive society is an equal society

Dinara Naumova (pictured), the youngest member of parliament of Kazakhstan, described the changes that have taken place in Kazakh society and politics since the January 2022 unrest, as well as what lies ahead for the future. Naumova took up her seat in the 98-member Mazhilis, the lower chamber of the bicameral parliament of Kazakhstan, following the 19 March election.

The 25-year-old politician was born with cerebral palsy to parents who could not care for her, entrusting her to her grandmother. At 18, she dreamt of opening an inclusiveness centre in her village; by 24, it became a reality. The centre now provides services for children with mental and physical disabilities free of charge. She became a member of Respublica, a new political party, weeks before the elections, elected in the Akmola region. Naumova, who spoke to EURACTIV via Zoom in Russian, said that although she does not remember Soviet times, she knows that society did not care about those with disabilities.

And there are still barriers: she was rejected from attending school because they did not have the facilities to accommodate a pupil with special needs, she explained. She also spoke of her experiences where people stared at her as her grandmother pushed her through the capital of Astana in a wheelchair. During these times, she explained people were not used to seeing such sights as people with disabilities were kept at home and out of public view.

Progress under way

Progress, she said, has been slow, but today, public buildings are being equipped with wheelchair access, and there are more and more inclusive playgrounds where children with disabilities would feel welcomed. “For me, the most important is not to divide people. An inclusive society is a society of equality,” she said, adding that this is not yet achieved – although progress is underway. One example of this progress is the inclusion of four MPs with disabilities in parliament, whereas before, the issue of inclusivity was discussed “without us”. Naumova said that together with her colleagues with disabilities, she was preparing initiatives and raising several questions for political debate.

Asked about the unrest in January 2022 that led to the death of 227 people, she said what caused it was difficult to ascertain. However, the very fact that her party, Respublica, that made it to Mazhilis with six MPs on an open-government and anti-corruption ticket, was a “response” and a “guarantee” that such events would not happen again. Youth voice in politics She described Respublica as a young party of young people, many of its activists being entrepreneurs, aiming at “listening to our people” and contributing to the development and modernisation of the country. Asked if her party had the ambition to accede to power, she said that she and her colleagues were realists and that their main goal was to remain true to themselves.

“Each of us has his own background in a professional field and is engaged in pro-bono work. Our ambition is not to go up in the political hierarchy but to leave an impact on the progress of our country.” As an example of her work as a parliamentarian, Naumova described her first parliamentary question on the rehabilitation of cancer patients, which she asked after having been approached by the patients themselves.

She said that she felt such empathy that when she read her parliamentary question, her voice trembled. She said that young Kazakhs were remarkably creative and that she was proud to represent the young people of her country in parliament. As for what lies ahead for her capacity as a member of the Committee on Legislation and Judicial and Legal Reform, she said the issues concerned mostly social issues such as the rights of women and children.

Naumova added she is keen to learn from the models and experiences of other parliaments, including the European Parliament. In response to the question of how she imagines Kazakhstan after the end of her parliamentary term, she hoped for tangible results from her work, to win people’s confidence and to know that her efforts have not been in vain. Asked if she hoped that Kazakhs would elect a woman for president at the next presidential elections, as the current president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev cannot run for a new mandate, she said that this could not be excluded.

“In principle, I’m in favour, and I can only say that women in Kazakhstan have a huge potential. Women have a developed sense of empathy, they raise the type of questions a man would probably never do, but then again, only time will tell,” she said. As for whether she thinks she could be a good candidate for president, she answered: “I’m too young, and I think the most important is not the candidacy, but to be able to make an impact, I still need to gain a lot of experience at my present position.”

Share this article: