Uyat and the Culture of Shame in Central Asia

"An excellent addition to the literature on Central Asia! This volume makes a welcome and important contribution to the scarce scholarship on shame. This is crucial for understanding social mores and the preservation of social order in honour-and-shame societies. The focus on gender and sexuality here is especially appreciated."
---Dr. Colette Harris, SOAS University of London, England
This book proposes an interdisciplinary look at the culture of shame in Central Asia and evaluates its role in the regulation of social and political interactions in the region. Contributors demonstrate how 'uyat' relies on patriarchal and hierarchical gender norms that negatively affect women and queer bodies. More specifically, contributors address issues of the taboo of sex education in Kazakhstani schools, favored heteronormativity and its consequences on queer bodies, and the compliance of parents to give their first born to adoption to the husband’s parents in Kyrgyzstan. The book also reflects on how these norms are challenged by young generations. Lastly, the book will also bring a novel reading on local political dynamics by examining the role of shame in Kazakhstani politics as a form of accountability in the absence of genuine political competition. This book will interest scholars of Central Asia, gender theorists, and scholars of post-socialist societies.

Hélène Thibault is an Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations (Nazarbayev University) and author of Transforming Tajikistan: State-Building and Islam in Post-Soviet Central Asia (2018).

Jean-François Caron is an Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations (Nazarbayev University) and Director of the book series entitled Steppe and Beyond: Studies on Central Asia at Palgrave MacMillan