Woman’s everyday world in Kazakh society (19th — early 20th centures)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze the everyday world of women in Kazakh traditional society in the 19th — early 20th centuries. The object of the analysis was researches of foreign and domestic authors, as well as a large historical material from archival funds, which depicts the daily life and legal status of a Kazakh woman. Based on unpublished materials from the archives of Russia and Uzbekistan, and published data, the organic connection of changes in the women position in traditional Kazakh society with the progressive development of society during the turn of eras, with the emergence of new values of the patriarchal family is shown. The analysis of the materials demonstrates that, undoubtedly, the patriarchal way of life left a distinct imprint on everyday life and the secondary position of women in Kazakh society. However, the author comes to the conclusion that, despite this fact, women in everyday life were able to adapt to the harsh patriarchal conditions of existence. Moreover, they knew how to formalize their participation in it. The position of a Kazakh woman in the community was determined by her place in the family and genealogical hierarchy, adat and sharia norms, age and personal qualities. She had the opportunity to show her skills where the public and social need of the community arose. In addition, the breath of the era of «Great Reforms» gradually expanded the range of legal opportunities for women and created conditions for the practical implementation of her high potential.