According to Radio Azattyk, a new draft Labour Code has been submitted to the Jogorku Kenesh (Supreme Council) for consideration, as the existing Labour Code adopted 20 years ago does not respond to modern realities. At the moment, the Labour Code prohibits the employment of women in 446 jobs with harmful or hazardous working conditions. There are plans to revise the list of prohibited professions and leave the restrictions on the list only for pregnant women and nursing mothers.
In the press release for the 8 March the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), ADC Memorial, and the Human Rights Movement Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan, with the support of the Coalition for Equality (Kyrgyzstan), called on the Kyrgyzstani authorities to bring its legislation in line with international law, to lift professional bans and to give women a real opportunity to work wherever they want and can:
“In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, only Kyrgyzstan has not yet undergone any legislative or practical changes to overcome discriminatory professional prohibitions, despite the fact that civil society, including trade unions, and government agencies, such as the Ministry of Labor, Social Security and Migration, have been conducting a constructive dialogue in recent years and have prepared proposals to improve the situation. Kyrgyzstan has just recently ratified ILO Convention No. 190 concerning the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work; a draft anti-discrimination law is being discussed with the participation of the Coalition for Equality. Against this background, the recommendations of the UN CEDAW to revise the list and to amend the Labor Code (the 80th session, 2021) remain unfulfilled.”