Kazakhstan Strengthens Domestic Violence Laws After Ex-Minister Murdered His Wife

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a new law to better protect women in response to the outcry following the murder of 31-year-old Saltanat Nukenova by her husband and former government official Kuandyc Bishimabyev last November.

The new law introduces amendments to Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code, the Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence, the Law on Marriage and Family, and other laws.

Nukenova’s murder was caught on video and shared during her murder trial. It depicted Bishimabyev dragging his wife by her hair, kicking and punching her for eight hours. Initially denying any wrongdoing, Bishimabyev later admitted to the abuse but denied it was carried out “with exceptional cruelty,” the charge against him.

Friends and family of Nukenova report that during the year she was with Bishimbayev, they frequently noticed bruises and rope marks on her neck. They also noted that the ex-minister closely monitored her phone and exhibited extreme jealousy.

Nukenova’s case and the subsequent murder trial have gained significant attention in Kazakhstan and beyond. Since the trial began, over 5,000 Kazakhs have contacted senators demanding legislative changes, and more than 150,000 people have signed petitions calling for harsher penalties for domestic abuse offenders.

“Kazakh women, just like Turkey’s women, suffer from an alarming rate of domestic violence. They urgently need new, progressive, and harsh laws, proper police protection, and an increasing cultural awareness of the horrific reality of violence against women,” said British-Turkish writer and activist Elif Shafak in an Instagram post.

The new law, called “Saltanat’s Law,” was passed in honor of Saltanat, which means "triumph" in Kazakh. The law reclassifies domestic violence from a civil infraction to a criminal offense. This means that while the act is recognized as a crime, which allows for more severe penalties than civil infractions, it is not separately itemized as its own unique category of criminal offense. Previously, domestic violence was considered an “administrative matter” in Kazakhstan.

Human Rights Watch wrote about the new law: “These are notable and important improvements, but the changes introduced by the law fall short of criminalizing domestic violence as a stand-alone offense either in the Criminal Code or Kazakhstan’s 2009 Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence.”

UN Women reports that each year, at least 400 women are murdered in Kazakhstan, with many cases going unreported. In 2023, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that the police received 99,026 domestic violence complaints, and courts issued administrative sanctions to 67,270 individuals in response.