A series of provocative photos posted by a well-known TV personality in Kyrgyzstan have ignited a moral outcry in the Central Asian nation, with the presenter taking aim at her conservative society’s concept of “shame.”
An image uploaded onto Nazira Aitbekova’s social media page in early December, in which she wore only an oversized black blazer, drew a wave of complaints from commenters. “This photo is undeniably beautiful, but only for the private archive! And it's not even about mentality and tradition! I think it's too personal,” one Instagram user typed.
Critics from the former Soviet Republic, where 90% of people identify as Muslims, rushed to the comments section to condemn the woman. “Her parents and family must be mortified by this shameless bastard,” one account wrote.
Despite the backlash, Aitbekova soon posted a second image of herself sitting on a bed wearing a partially open white shirt with her arm strategically covering her body. Accompanying the snap was a lengthy caption commenting on the concept of shame in the conservative country.
“You should be ashamed of nothing so long as you are wearing clothes,” the actress wrote, voicing her perception of social problems in Kyrgyzstan. “There is no shame in engaging in corruption! No shame in stealing and robbing your people! No shame in looking into people’s eyes and lying to them!”
“It's not a shame to kill a person! Beating your wives too! Neither is it shameful to rape sons, daughters, children of relatives… it's not a shame to conceive a child, and then refuse to pay alimony,” the TV star claimed.
In a third post published on Saturday, Aitbekova wrote that she thinks her photos look “amazing” and that she loves herself. She added that her posts had resonated among several of her followers, with many admiring the woman’s courage and sharing her photos supporting her. Some even posted their own personal snaps.
In 2012, Aitbekova was the victim of a kidnapping prank in which the celebrity was driven outside of the capital city Bishkek by two journalists, who forced her to partially undress and threatened to kill her.
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Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous nation bordering China and the former Soviet republics Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, is home to around six million people, mostly Turkic Muslims.