Kazakhstan

The Republic of Kazakhstan is the largest state in Central Asia with a small portion extending into Eastern Europe. Kazakhstan is a unitary state with the president at its helm holding significant executive power, which includes appointing key government officials and guiding national policies.¹ The country declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and was led by President Nursultan Nazarbayev up until his resignation in 2019. Since then, it has undergone several political reforms, including constitutional changes in 2022, under the current president Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev.²

Kazakhstan’s population stands at over 20 million people,³ with ethnic Kazakhs comprising the majority, followed by sizable Russian, Uzbek, and Ukrainian minorities.⁴ The 2021 census recorded the population as being 69.3% Muslim, 17.2% Christian (mainly Russian Orthodox), less than 5% other religions and 2.3% atheists. However, over 11% of the surveyed population did not specify their religion. A 2019 study by the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies, a government-affiliated think tank, estimated atheists and non-believers to constitute 18.7% of the population.⁵

Kazakhstan is a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as well as other organizations, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).⁶

Constitution and government

Article 22 of Kazakhstan’s Constitution⁷ explicitly states that “everyone shall have the right to freedom of conscience”, while article 39 adds that the rights and freedoms provided by article 22, among others, “may not be restricted in any way”, including for political reasons.

The Constitution also articulates freedom of expression (article 20), no discrimination “on the grounds of (…) attitude to religion” (article 14), and “the right to choose and to declare and not to declare (…) religious affiliation” (article 19).

Regardless of this, the State’s approach includes regulation, control, and penalization of religious expression and activities among individuals and groups considered “non-traditional”.⁸

While the number of atheists in Kazakhstan continues to rise and, according to some studies, has tripled in the last ten years, there are some concerns that people may prefer to indicate they are atheists to avoid getting into trouble with the government, which continues to intimidate and restrict people from non-traditional and minority religions through various means.⁹

Law on Religious Activity and Religious Associations

Kazakhstan introduced the “Law on Religious Activity and Religious Associations” in 2011.¹⁰ The preamble to the law acknowledges the historical role of Hanafi Islam and the Russian Orthodox Church, regarded as “traditional” religions that have been present on Kazakh territory for many centuries. This is in contrast to the “new” or “non-traditional” religions and denominations, which authorities continue to discriminate against and treat with suspicion.¹¹

The law enforces stringent registration requirements for religious organizations, and bans or restricts unregistered religious activities or those that fail to meet minimum membership figures quota requirements, enabling the State to control minority religious groups and punish unauthorized religious or political activity. Pursuant to the law, authorities continue to surveil, fine, detain, arrest and imprison individuals on account of their religious beliefs or affiliations and restrict assembly for peaceful religious activity.¹²

In January 2022, amendments to the 2011 law came into effect, widening State religious censorship and restricting holding of religious gatherings and activities, such as pilgrimages, away from State-registered places of religious worship.¹³

Persecution of minorities

According to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Sunni Muslims in Kazakhstan who do not subscribe to the State-sanctioned (Hanafi) form of Islam are often targeted. There have been crackdowns on peaceful online religious activities that the authorities have described as “public calls for terrorism” or “incitement of religious discord”. People who have written posts expressing religious views and commenting on religious texts and sermons have received fines and even prison sentences. At least seven Muslim prisoners of conscience remained imprisoned in Kazakhstan in 2024, convicted for their peaceful online religious activities.¹⁴

Three of these individuals—Nazim Abdrakhmanov, Bolatbek Nurgaliyev, and Samat Adilov— who participated in an online WhatsApp group on Islam, were released in 2023, two years after the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention called for their release in September 2021. However, two others from the same group were still incarcerated by the end of the year.
In May 2023, authorities retaliated against Zhandos Saduakasov, a religious activist, who was involved in planning the construction of a mosque. Saduakasov faced government interference after advocating for free and fair elections.¹⁵

Jehovah’s Witness, Daniil Smal, was forcibly conscripted by the district conscription office in May 2023, despite his conscientious objection on religious grounds. After spending months in detention, Smal challenged his conscription in court, and in August, the Military Court of the Almaty Garrison ruled it illegal, leading to his release.¹⁶

Education and children’s rights

Kazakhstan’s education system is strictly secular and does not allow for religious education in public schools, colleges, or universities. Homeschooling for religious reasons is also prohibited. Religious instruction outside of school is only permitted if a registered religious group provides it.¹⁷

In January 2016, the Ministry of Education passed a decree banning the wearing of the hijab by teachers and students in schools below university level.¹⁸ In October 2023, the Kazakh government introduced the ban on hijab at schools as a formal law.¹⁹ Since then, girls wearing a headscarf at school have been denied education and parents have had civil suits filed against them for failing to carry out their responsibility in ensuring adherence to the law.²⁰ Parents’ attempts to challenge the State have remained unsuccessful.²¹

Child marriage

Kazakhstan’s Code On Marriage and Family,²² introduced in 2011 and amended in 2014, establishes the minimum legal age for marriage at 18 years for both sexes. The minimum age can be reduced by two years under certain conditions with the consent of legal guardians. There is limited data available on child marriage practices in Kazakhstan, and the recorded prevalence rate of marriages below 18 remains low at about 7%.²³ However, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has expressed concern regarding the high prevalence of unregistered child religious marriages as well as bride kidnapping.²⁴ These practices are more common in rural areas and among minority religious groups. The government of Kazakhstan has committed to ending child, early and forced marriage by 2030²⁵ and also intends to strengthen criminal legislation against bride kidnapping.²⁶

Family, community & society

The country’s legal system is strictly secular, and religious laws do not have a binding role in the courts. Non-religious individuals have the right to live without religious observance.

Women’s rights

Women in Kazakhstan have the legal right to work, vote, and hold public office, and there are policies aimed at promoting gender equality, such as laws prohibiting gender-based violence and discrimination. However, gender inequality remains a concern, especially in rural areas, where traditional gender roles persist. Domestic violence remains a significant issue. The new domestic violence law, introduced in April 2024, enforces tougher penalties for convicted perpetrators and strengthens protection for victims.²⁷

LGBTI+ rights

LGBTI+ rights in Kazakhstan are restricted, and the country remains conservative on LGBTI+ issues. Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1997, but there are no legal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Same-sex marriage is not recognized, and there are no laws that allow for gender recognition of transgender individuals.²⁸

LGBTI+ individuals in Kazakhstan face significant challenges, including harassment, discrimination, and violence. Attempts to report homophobic and transphobic violence are frequently met with resistance or hostility from law enforcement. In May 2021, two organizers of an LGBTI+ gathering in Shymkent were threatened by counter-demonstrators and taken into custody, detained and mistreated by the police.²⁹

Religious beliefs and patriarchal traditions have a role to play in this. In April 2023, the Muftiate, Kazakhstan’s chief religious institution, condemned same-sex relationships as “obscene” and “degenerate,” claiming they defy nature and divine will.³⁰ The Kazakhstani Union of Parents accused feminists, particularly the human rights organization Feminita, of recruiting youth and spreading “LGBT propaganda” and submitted a petition to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Culture and Information.³¹ In autumn the same year, former military officers proposed recriminalizing homosexuality.³²

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

Media freedom

The government severely limits freedom of expression, in contradiction to constitutional rights. Major broadcast media, especially national television networks and major newspapers, are wholly or partly owned by the State or pro-government outlets. The remaining independent media is heavily regulated, and frequently censored and harassed.³³ Journalists are subject to threats of violence, unjustified detention and arrests, censorship and control with the threat of enforcing criminal libel laws. There is also increasing intimidation from unidentified non-state actors.⁵

A 2009 law on mass media³⁴ classified websites as mass media outlets, giving the authorities more powers to arbitrarily shut them down under vaguely worded extremism statutes or in the interests of State security. Since the introduction of this law, dozens of websites have been closed every year. The government tightly controls online content, blocking or slowing access to opposition websites, some news sites from neighboring countries, and other platforms. It has also throttled internet access during local protests. Further, media law requires citizens to register their online comments, with the registration details made available to law enforcement upon request, leading to most online media outlets avoiding public comment sections.³⁵

Censorship of religious texts

The government censors all religious texts and routinely prosecutes citizens for possessing or distributing religious literature. Religious literature and objects can only be distributed in registered places of worship or religious education, as per Article 9, Part 2 of the religion law. In 2022, the authorities brought 144 administrative prosecutions against individuals for posting religious texts, messages or recordings on social media without the permission of the State. At least six cases punished people for importing religious literature.³⁶

Misuse of laws against incitement of religious hatred

Freedom of speech on religious issues is limited by Article 174 of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code (amended in 2014),³⁷ which bans, in terms that are vague and wide-ranging:

“Incitement of social, national, clan, racial, or religious hatred or discord, insult to the national honour and dignity or religious feelings of citizens, as well as propaganda of exclusivity, superiority or inferiority of citizens on grounds of their religion, class, national, generic or racial identity, committed publicly or with the use of mass media or information and communication networks, as well as by production or distribution of literature or other information media, promoting social, national, clan, racial, or religious hatred or discord”.

Punishments for violating Article 174 range from a fine to imprisonment of up to seven years. Article 174 has been used in practice to prosecute the non-religious ostensibly for “religious hatred”. Secrecy surrounds many of these prosecutions, with hearings often being closed to the public and cases being brought by or being closely connected to the KNB secret police.³⁸

On 14 March 2013, atheist writer and anti-corruption campaigner Aleksandr Kharlamov was arrested for “inciting religious hatred”. The indictment against him, brought under Article 174, claimed that Kharlamov “in his articles on newspapers and the internet put his personal opinions above the opinions and faith of the majority of the public and thus incited religious animosity”. Kharlamov was confined to a psychiatric hospital for “psychiatric evaluation”. He was detained for five months including one month of forced psychiatric examination. He was subsequently released and his case was finally closed in 2018. Kharlamov lodged a suit against the police and the Finance Ministry seeking recompense for the abuse he suffered and won a million tenge ($2,578) from the state for unlawful prosecution.³⁹

In January 2016, two activists, Ermek Narymbaev and Serikzhan Mambetalin, were convicted for violating Article 174 and sentenced to three years and two years in prison, respectively, after they posted excerpts from an unpublished book written by religious figure Murat Telibekov on their Facebook pages. There are clear indications that they were in reality targeted for their vocal criticism of the government and participation in peaceful protests. Mambetalin was subsequently released after posting a public apology on Facebook⁴⁰ and Narymbaev’s sentence was reduced to a non-custodial sentence by an appellate court.⁴¹

In the same year, human rights defender Bolatbek Blyalov was similarly charged under Article 174 for “inciting” both “national” and “social discord” based on videos posted on YouTube, in which he expresses his views on contentious matters such as nationalism and the rights of individuals whose houses are up for demolition. Blyalov ‘confessed’ and was released, but the court imposed restrictions on his freedom of movement for three years.⁴²

Freedom of association and assembly

Article 23 of the Constitution specifies the right to freedom of association and article 32 establishes the “right to assemble peacefully and unarmed, to hold meetings, campaigns, demonstrations, street processions and pickets.” However, it also states that the right to freedom of assembly “may be restricted by law in the interest of state security, public order, protection of health, rights and freedoms of others.”⁴³

In practice, freedom of association and assembly in Kazakhstan is heavily restricted, with authorities imposing legal and administrative barriers. Organizing demonstrations requires prior government approval and the government tightly controls public gatherings, often citing security concerns to justify crackdowns. Police frequently disperse unsanctioned demonstrations, sometimes using excessive force, while activists, journalists, and religious leaders risk detention for organizing or attending such events. Religious minorities, particularly unregistered groups, experience surveillance, raids, and restrictions on their gatherings, limiting their ability to practice their faith freely.⁴⁴

Testimonials

“In modern Kazakhstan, under the current political and legal regime, there is no true freedom of religion, and the situation is getting worse and worse. It is evident that most Kazakh authorities support the religion of Islam and persecute non-Muslims, including atheists. However, religious Islamists create organized crime and extremist militias, religious Kazakhstans commit crimes, and participate in armed religious conflict, like in Syria. Fanatics from the religion of Islam believe that their religion is the one true one and should become the only religion on the planet.”
— Aleksandr Kharlamov 

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