I will calmly take out my breasts anywhere

Artist and daughter of the President of Kyrgyzstan fights for women's rights

On April 11, 20-year-old artist and blogger Aliya Shagieva posted a photo on social media of herself breastfeeding her newborn son Tahir. The picture was accompanied by her reflections on the perception of the female body, the cult of motherhood and the right to openly breastfeed a child. This is not the first such post by Shagieva - before and after the birth of a child, she published statuses on women's rights on Facebook and Instagram. Meduza tells how the daughter of the President of Kyrgyzstan promotes the ideas of body positivity and equality — and how her readers react to it.

Who is Aliya Shagieva?

The youngest daughter of the President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev is 20 years old. She became known on social media as an artist. Shagieva tries not to advertise her connection with the head of the republic. “I did not ask any news agency to interview me, they wrote to me first. During the interview, I in no way touched on the real name, ” she wrote on her Facebook a year ago, when her father’s name became known. Bektur Iskender, co-founder of the Kloop.kg website, recalls that for many who knew Shagieva, this detail of her biography came as a surprise.

Aliya wrote that she called herself her mother's surname all her life and was going to change her passport in order "not to see interest in me because of family ties." She said that even at school, knowing the answer, she was embarrassed to raise her hand - "if only someone would not think that I was showing off." social networks According to her , she seeks to use not for self-promotion, but for talking about "social difficulties and easel art." Almazbek Atambaev also does not discuss his daughter publicly, although he does not hide it - the Sputnik news agency published several photographs of Atambaev with his family, provided by the presidential press service; was on them and Shagieva.

Shagieva is engaged in graphics and studies at the Roerich Art School in St. Petersburg. She said that a few years ago she did not plan to become an artist, but rather thought about the profession of a plastic surgeon. In November, Aliya posted on Instagram a comparison of her two drawings - 2011 and 2016 - with the words: "I'm sure that many of you can draw better than this 💩 on the left)) Never despair!"

her wedding Aliya Shagieva also announced on social networks - by this time she and her husband had been dating for several years. According to Elle, Konstantin is 25 years old, he is a programmer, and they met Shagieva on the Internet. She admitted that she did not immediately decide to publish wedding photos, since her husband is not Kyrgyz: “Thanks to everyone who understands that nationality is just a formality, and there are no restrictions for bright feelings.”

In an interview with Evening Bishkek, Shagieva noted that most of the negative comments she received were from men. In her opinion, “this suggests that a woman in our country is experiencing very great social pressure, and first of all, this comes from men who consider the female half of the population to be their property.” The wedding itself was modest: only 30 guests were invited to it . In March 2017, the couple had a son, who was named Tahir.

After the birth of the child, the girl continues to draw and notes that motherhood also influenced her style: “On the eve of the birth, the strokes were thin, barely noticeable, but now I want to press the liner harder and highlight each line. I love analyzing this. The rhythm of the dance appeared in my lines.” A year ago, Bishkek’s Al Hayat Gallery hosted all proceeds from the sale of works (about 165,000 rubles in Russian currency) her first personal exhibition, Metamorphoses, and she transferred to a fund for helping children with Down syndrome. Shagieva donated to charity and part of the proceeds from the sale of T-shirts with her prints.

Activist or young mother?

Three weeks after the birth of the child, the girl posted on the social network a short essay about motherhood and a photo in which she, sitting in the passenger seat of a car, breastfeeds her son. The picture got almost five thousand likes on Instagram and caused a heated discussion. Now frankly negative comments on this post by Shagieva have been deleted, but a few critical remarks remain .

Kyrgyzstan is a predominantly conservative and Muslim country. In the global ranking of gender equality, it is in 81st position, and in the list of the poorest and richest countries in the American edition of Global Finance for 2016, it ranks 148th. Activists and human rights activists regularly talk about non-observance of women's rights in the republic: in particular, the problem of forced marriages and "bride kidnapping" is acute in the country . As Umutai Dauletova, gender specialist of the United Nations Development Program in Kyrgyzstan, notes , “patriarchal foundations are the root of many problems for Kyrgyz women.”

A few hours after the publication of the feeding picture, the girl posted an even bolder photo , where she also feeds the child, and explained in detail why it is important for her to publish such photos and fight double standards. “Women's breasts are not a subject of vulgarity and obscenity, as most of us believe. For a very long time, people forgot about its true purpose and turned it into an object of gratification for the eyes of men,” Shagieva wrote. “Society turns breasts into an object of sexuality, attractiveness, and then condemns women who resort to plastic surgery because their breasts are small / “not that” shape / with large nipples. <...> Society says that motherhood is wonderful, but says “fu, shame on her” when looking at a nursing mother. Funny, right?

The artist recalled that even during pregnancy she wrote "a long text that the female body should not be the subject of sexualization." She said that she was surprised at the number of messages of gratitude from women who face such pressure. At the same time, conservative-minded commentators compared feeding with physiological processes that cause disgust ("That's right. Let's shit in public. A natural process"), and tried to shame the girl ("She puts her father in danger. Tomorrow people will say - no I was able to raise a daughter, how will you lead the country", "Do not disgrace the president. A disgrace, you have no shame and have no mind").

The girl is not embarrassed. “I will absolutely calmly take out my breasts anywhere when my baby is hungry, whether it be a mall, a car showroom, or a bench in a public park. I will be an example for other breastfeeding mothers who have been driven into the uncomfortable confines of a patriarchal society,” concluded . Shagieva

Why else is she criticized?

Shagieva gets for a lot: tattoos, creativity and marriage with a man of a different nationality, but first of all for an active feminist position. The girl consistently speaks out on social networks about women's rights. For example, on March 8, she published a detailed post about what was wrong with this holiday, although, according to her, she herself had not recently seen anything wrong with the wording “Happy spring, beauty and femininity.” In particular, Shagieva wrote that from an event promoting respect for women, the holiday has turned into a day of support for gender stereotypes, and “the essence of the problem is well described by the most common and, unfortunately, beloved by many men“ joke ”:“ Shut up, woman, your day - March 8"".

The sharpest reaction was caused by several photographs of Shagieva in her underwear: the media reacted to them with the headlines "The President's Naked Daughter" and "Scandalous Princess" . In one of these pictures , the girl is at the 40th week of pregnancy - but many consider attempts to talk about the female body in the context of motherhood immodest and outrageous. Shagieva responded to accusations of promiscuity with a separate status “about the objectification (objectification) of women and about the term“ whore ””.

She emphasized that ideas about modesty and decency have changed over time: “In the Victorian era, for example, it was immodest to show ankles, in some countries it is“ indecent ”and in our century.” The girl also suggested thinking about why only women are branded with the word "whore". “Men have the right to have sexual experiences, but women don’t, because being a woman is not being completely human, it means having fewer rights and it means belonging to a man.”

to criticism and condemnation In general, Shagieva tries to respond in a balanced way and continues to publish her reflections on the stereotypes and challenges of motherhood. “Believe me, behind my weak physique and quiet voice there is such a strong aunt with a stable life position and core,” says the artist.

Olga Strakhovskaya

Photo in the announcement: Aliya Shagieva's personal page on VKontakte