Debate alone and win the tournament

IDEA Editorial Team
IDEA Editorial Team
Debate alone and win the tournament
Daniyarbek kyzy Kurmanzhan originally comes from Osh. Currently she studies at the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University. Kurmanzhan loves learning new things and programming is one of her favorite hobbies. Her debate journey started 6 months ago, when she first entered "Manas" debate club.

COVID-19: opportunity search

Since the COVID-19 pandemic situation affected our lives in a serious way, online education did not allow Kurmanzhan to practice theory she had learned. Her passion for debate gave her motivation to look for new opportunities for debate practice back in Osh, where Kurmanzhan was physically. Thus, she got into the Bagyt debate club, where she spent 3 months.
The way they debated at Bagyt was very different. It was hard for me to organize everything somehow. Also during the training sessions, our debate trainer concentrated and helped boys more, - shares Kurmanzhan.

Life-changing tournament

While Kurmanzhan was in Osh, she found out about the debate tournament “Osh Open 2021” of the Demilgeluu Jashtar project. She immediately decided to take part in it, because it was her first offline tournament. Therefore, she set a goal for herself - to test her knowledge in debates and share her experience with others. 
When Kurmanzhan got the final round, she was alone. Her teammate, coach and Bagyt debate club members decided not to support her participation in the final and left before it started. They were all convinced that they should have a chance to win, but they were supposedly sued.
Thus, in the final round, Kurmanzhan was on her own. She showed how most often girls and women in this world have to struggle. Sometimes there is no support even from other girls and women, because the patriarchal system holds on to fear, pressure and violence that oppresses everyone.
As a result, Kurmanzhan won that debate tournament “Open Osh 2021”. She also became the best speaker. She single-handedly and boldly fought back against the whole patriarchal and authoritarian system that had developed in her debate club in Osh.
This tournament has had a positive impact on me. I changed my opinion of the people I came with. I became more confident, and I applied gained knowledge into practice, - Kurmanzhan notes.
The Demilgeluu Jashtar project is funded by USAID and is focused on increasing civic participation of youth and preparing them for the labor market by creating various opportunities. 
Text was prepared by Mariam Sulaimanova.