Female Gender Socialization in Traditional Kazakh Society in the late XIXth and early XXth centuries

Женская гендерная социализация в казахском традиционном обществе в конце XIX – начале XX вв.
Abdulina A.T. Moryakova M.T. Yermekbayeva A.S.
1 March 2026 Cherkas Global University Press

Bylye Gody
2026 #21 Issue 1 240 - 251 pp.

This study examines female gender socialization in traditional Kazakh society in the late XIX and early XXth centuries, demonstrating its strong dependence on the nomadic way of life and the predominance of patriarchal social relations. These relations prescribed women’s subordination first to paternal and subsequently to marital authority. Female socialization, encompassing upbringing, the internalization of sociocultural norms and values, and the acquisition of gender-specific practices, functioned as a mechanism for the reproduction and stability of the social system through the performance of prescribed gender roles. The empirical and historiographical basis of the study includes archival materials as well as works by pre-revolutionary scholars and ethnographers addressing traditional subsistence practices and the institutions of marriage and family among the Kazakhs. The particular attention is given to the research of Kh.A. Argynbayev, whose works analyze marriage and family relations in close connection with nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralism, which shaped social organization, including gender-and age-based divisions of labor. In this context, women’s significant economic and labor contributions constituted an important factor in maintaining the resilience of traditional Kazakh society. Women’s everyday practices included household management, child-rearing, the maintenance of kinship networks, and adherence to ritual and etiquette norms. Women’s social status was determined by a range of factors, including age, reproductive capacity, number of children, economic contribution, lineage, and the social position of male relatives. Despite limited legal agency and the dominance of patriarchal normative frameworks, women remained active participants in social life and enjoyed relative social authority, particularly in later life.

custom , division of family responsibilities , gender roles , marital and family relations , marriage , nomadic society , pastoralism , ritual , traditions

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Ch.Ch. Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Ch.Ch. Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University

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