Matriarchs of Central Asia: Age Differences Among Kyrgyzstani Women in Housework Participation

Kamila Kolpashnikova , National Taipei University
Kiyomi Shirakawa, Hitotsubashi University
Osamu Sudoh, University of Tokyo

Younger generations are usually socialized in ways that promote more egalitarian gender scripts compared to older generations. This assumption about younger generations is extended to all spheres of human life and all cultural contexts. Yet do these assumptions of the life-course approach apply to housework participation in Central Asia? We analyze time-use diaries from the Life in Kyrgyzstan panel data, 2012-2013, to show that in Kyrgyzstan, gender performances in housework by age are contrary to the expectations laid out by the life-course approach. Among working age women, older women do less housework. These results reveal the effects of the kainene-kelin (mother-in-law and bride) relations on housework participation, when younger brides in households are expected to assume more housework than older women. Adjustments to the explanations around gender performance based on socialization and life-course perspective are offered.

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 Presented in Session 117. Gender Disparities in Later Life in Developing Countries