In Bishkek’s universities, debate societies are places where students hone their oratory skills, put the world to rights and forge strong friendships. 

But in recent times, their reputation as safe spaces has come into question as women speak up about sexual harassment in the clubs.

Aizirek recounted her experience of sexual violence on the debate circuit in a closed group last year set up by victims on the Russian social media network VKontakte.

The wave of testimonies in the group rocked some of the capital’s best-recognized clubs and saw the student-run institutions set up “equity committees” to address the problem.

But earlier this year, she forced herself to relive the trauma once more in a Twitter thread, after she learned that her abuser, implicated by multiple women in the discussions, had made a return to the debate circuit.

Aizirek began at a debate club affiliated with the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University back when she was 17 and continued for four years, excelling at tournaments and showing younger recruits the ropes as a trainer.

Debating was “a magical society where every debater is a conscious and educated person. Each round is a separate universe where moral dilemmas are discussed, from women's rights to foreign policy and more,” she wrote on Twitter at the end of January.  

Those experiences were darkened by an abuser she initially considered her friend, a young man named Arslan.

The first time Arslan forced himself on Aizirek was in the spring of 2019, when members of the debate club were sharing accommodation in Kazakhstan’s capital, where the club was competing at a tournament.  

Arslan crept into her bed as she slept and put his hand in her pajamas.

After she rebuffed him, he apologized.

But the next morning he tried to kiss her and invited her into the toilet for sex. “Come on, you are not a virgin!” he told her. 

The second ordeal was during a holiday at Lake Issyk-Kul organized by friends from the debate club.

Aizirek said she was left with bruises after Arslan tried to force himself onto her during a half-hour struggle.

Pervasive problem

The scale of sexual harassment in Kyrgyz universities was captured in research carried out last year by Nurzhan Estebes and Cholpon Badysheyeva as part of a donor-funded human rights training program. 

Of 355 women surveyed nationwide, half had experienced some form of pressure to have sex during their time at university. 

In 68 percent of cases the harasser was a male classmate. A quarter of the time it was a teacher; sometimes it was administrative staff or a member of top management. 

“One of our interviewees was harassed by her teacher. He wrote to her persistently, asked her to stay after class, tried to kiss her. She asked us how she could have addressed it or proved [harassment] when she had not been raped,” Estebes told Eurasianet.

The researchers identified only one institution, the American University of Central Asia (AUCA), that had a policy to identify inappropriate behavior and deal with complaints of sexual harassment. 

After the sexual harassment testimonies in May last year indicated problems in clubs affiliated with at least three universities – Manas, the Kyrgyz State Law Academy and AUCA – two of the clubs conducted internal investigations.

Arslan – who admitted his abuses and apologized to his multiple victims individually – was declared persona non grata in Bishkek’s debate circuit along with other men whose names surfaced in the testimonies.

But this January, Arslan and at least one other man called out as a harasser participated in the Commonwealth Cup 2022 – a tournament involving debate clubs from ex-Soviet countries that was held in Bishkek, moving Aizirek to post the MeToo-style testimony.  

Aizirek confirmed her testimony to Eurasianet in an interview.

Eurasianet contacted Arslan via social media for comment but did not receive a reply.  

No legal recourse

While many debate clubs work out of universities, they are often regarded as autonomous entities.

In a February statement sent to Eurasianet, the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University said the institution was against all violence, including sexual harassment, but the cases discussed online “have nothing to do with the student council and the leadership of the university.” Arslan was expelled last year for failing to attend class, the statement said.  

The university added that all complaints “should be assessed in the framework of the law.” (There is no law against sexual harassment in Kyrgyzstan and police are notoriously reluctant to investigate sexual violence).

The public revelations have also sent a tremor through Bishkek’s donor community, which has traditionally seen debate as a fruitful medium for youth programs.

Arslan was, for instance, hired in 2020 to speak as a “critical thinking trainer” at an event organized by the non-profit IDEA Central Asia with support from the United Nations Development Program. 

IDEA CA in February released a detailed statement backing victims of sexual harassment, offering a support hotline, and condemning the organizers of the Commonwealth Cup for inviting people accused of harassment.

IDEA CA also decided not to prolong the contract of a staff member who, while not accused by anybody of harassment, maintained contact with Arslan after the accusations surfaced. 

In response to questions emailed by Eurasianet, an IDEA CA representative declined to discuss Arslan’s involvement at the event but said that he had been blacklisted along with other alleged harassers since accounts about his behavior first emerged.

“No acts of harassment or abuse were recorded at any of the venues and events that we organized,” the representative said, adding that IDEA CA would continue to work with debate clubs to offer “all possible assistance fighting sexual harassment.”

AUCA’s debate club issued a statement on Instagram condemning harassment and standing with victims.

An official at the Kyrgyz State Law Academy told Eurasianet that the administration had not heard of harassment complaints from students but had a strong anti-harassment policy that includes holding events against gender violence.