Loading

Kumarkhan's journey Providing legal assistance to those in need

start of A new life

Kumarkhan Rakhimova

In 1991, after divorcing her husband, Kumarkhan Rakhimova, along with her two children, returned to her home village, Bazar-Korgon in Jalal-Abad Oblast, in southern Kyrgyzstan.

Bazar-Korgon village, southern Kyrgyzstan

With great difficulty, she obtained a piece of land from the local government.

In 1993, with the help of her neighbors and family, she built a small two-room house.

She worked hard trying to feed and raise children, with the hope to move one day to a bigger house.

unpleasant news

When she tried to obtain a passport for her son, Kumarkhan discovered the land and the house did not have the necessary legal documentation. In fact, there was no information about the property in the State Registration Service registries and in the local aiyl okmotu.

Kumarkhan recalls: “I first tried to resolve the issue myself. Every day I traveled several miles to the local government offices. I then turned to a private lawyer. With only a pension of 2500 soms, I couldn't afford his services.”

When she was about to give up, she turned to a local court, where the judge told her about the possibility of obtaining free legal support in the nearest Free Legal Aid Center established under the Law on State Guaranteed Legal Aid.

Bazar-Korgon Free Legal Aid Center

hope

This is how she met Naycha Kaldymoldoeva, an experienced lawyer from the Bazar-Korgon Free Legal Aid Center.

Naycha Kaldymoldoyeva negotiated with the responsible government agencies, drafted all the necessary applications, and advocated on behalf of Kumarkhan.

True owner

With the help of the Free Legal Aid Center, Kumarkhan was able to register her land and house and received all legal documents for her property.

Finally, after 28 years, Kumarkhan Rakhimova legally owns her property thanks to the legal assistance provided by the Free Legal Aid Center.

Kumarkhan is now happy and worry free. She dreams of building a bigger house to live with her kids and grandchildren.

The USAID Collaborative Governance Program, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, established 10 new Free Legal Aid Centers (FLACs) to improve access to legal services for citizens, with a focus on the most vulnerable populations. This is in addition to the 14 existing FLACs. Since 2016, over 132 thousand (132,476) citizens have received free legal assistance at FLACs nationwide.

The USAID Collaborative Governance Program fosters effective collaboration between civil society and the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic to increase the demand for the Rule of Law and access to justice for the most vulnerable populations, including victims of domestic violence.

This publication is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through a grant from the USAID Collaborative Governance Program implemented by East-West Management Institute, Inc. The contents are the sole responsibility of the East West Management Institute, Inc. and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, and the United States Government.

Credits:

Maxim Shubovich

Report Abuse

If you feel that this video content violates the Adobe Terms of Use, you may report this content by filling out this quick form.

To report a copyright violation, please follow the DMCA section in the Terms of Use.