start of A new life
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.
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.
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.
Credits:
Maxim Shubovich