Debate alone and win the tournament
IDEA Editorial Team
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.