Gender Issues in the Kazakh Literature of the Early 20th Century

Abstract

Women’s rights and fate have always been a significant issue. In the article, the author reviews the gender issues in human history and analyzes the literary theoretical and historical aspects of the problem of women in Kazakh society of the early 20th century with the help of Kazakh intellectuals’ works which were written to solve the problems of women, and literary works and journalistic articles of that time. The Kazakh people valued the role of women, therefore, paid a lot of attention on the upbringing, behavior of a girl and planned her general life. There were times when a Kazakh woman rode a horse, fought the enemy and ruled the country wisely. But over time, the issue of women in Kazakh society has become more complicated. At the beginning of the 20th century, Alash intellectuals, who understood the importance of gender issues in Kazakh society, wrote special articles and works of art to influence people’s consciousness. It was disseminated to the public through the media. The first novel in Kazakh literature was dedicated to the issue of women. Women’s civil rights and their place in society began to find a positive solution in the early 20th century with the intervention of Alash activists. In the research article we analyzed M. Dulatuly’s «Bakytsyz Zhamal» (Poor Zhamal), Zh. Aimauytov’s «Akbilek» novels, also M. Auezov, M. Zhumabayev, N. Kulzhanova’s journalistic articles. In this article, the author examines the origins of the struggle for women’s equality in the early 20th century, and the specific actions of Kazakh intellectuals to protect women’s civil rights. The study is based on historical data and literary and journalistic works. The results of the hard struggle is proven by the works written in that period.