Dreaming big for a little asylum-seeker in the Kyrgyz Republic

Every morning when a sleepy four-year-old Maryam* complains that she doesn’t want to go to school, her mother Farida* smiles gently, hugs her warmly, and whispers to her softly. “My princess, if you don’t go to kindergarten, how can you study and one day become a very good doctor?”

Farida – herself only 22 years old – knows that studying to become a doctor is still a long way off for Maryam. But having fled personal violence and widespread insecurity in Afghanistan, and now hosted in the Kyrgyz Republic, every day she dreams of a better future for her daughter.

“For my daughter, my big dream is that she never faces these problems,” says Farida. “I want her to have a beautiful life, to complete school and university.”

When Farida was a teenager, girls were able to go to school in Afghanistan, and she completed a full twelve years of education in Kabul. Graduating high school in 2018, she had her own dreams of studying to become a nurse in a hospital.

Since September 2021, however, the return to school for all Afghan girls over the age of 12 has been postponed indefinitely. Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls are prohibited from going to secondary school.

Asylum-seeker status in the Kyrgyz Republic

With Maryam still in her belly, Farida arrived in the Kyrgyz Republic in 2019, together with her mother, father and young brother. Her father had previously worked with foreign forces in Afghanistan, and feared for their lives.

“My father said, ‘We’re not staying here. We’re going to Bishkek’,” explains Farida.

The family reached out to UNHCR’s partner Legal Clinic Adilet for advice and help, and applied for international protection in the Kyrgyz Republic.

As of June 2023, the Kyrgyz Republic hosted 775 asylum-seekers – 278 of whom are from Afghanistan. As a signatory to the Refugee Convention, the Kyrgyz Republic has a national law on refugees and established asylum procedures, and conducts its own refugee status determination.

Asylum-seekers in the Kyrgyz Republic receive three-month renewable permits that allow them to stay in the country while their requests for refugee status are being considered. While asylum-seekers should receive the decision within six months of their application, in practice it can take longer, during which they have no access to legal employment, healthcare or social services.

According to the national legislation, asylum-seeking children in the Kyrgyz Republic are able to attend government-provided kindergarten, and primary and secondary school.  

Promoting recognition of people in need of international protection

Farida and her family have not yet received a final decision on their application. This makes it impossible for Farida to get a job and start saving for Maryam’s future schooling, which she desperately wants to do.

Adilet continues to follow-up the case of Farida, Maryam and their family with authorities.

With support from partners, including the European Union, UNHCR advocates for fair and efficient asylum procedures that produce quality decisions. In 2022, the Kyrgyz Republic recognised only one asylum-seeker as a refugee. Between January and June 2023, only four asylum-seekers were granted refugee status, and 62 were rejected – mostly from Afghanistan.

“Without documents, the more problems you face,” says Farida. “Without documents, you don’t have freedom.”

Despite the challenges, she remains hopeful. “One day, when I see my daughter working in a hospital, that day I am a very rich person.”

Recognising people in need of international protection as refugees, and providing them with due rights and services, enables them to contribute to society, including through legal employment and payment of taxes. This would be a promising first step for a young mother dreaming to see her daughter become a doctor, and to give back to the society that hosts them.

* Names changed for the protection of the individuals.