The post-Soviet Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan – as well as Afghanistan and Iran share many similarities in their customs, ceremonies, and attitudes toward food. After all, they all share a common Mongol-Persian-Islamic heritage. However, based on interviews with three generations of Kazakh women, this author has come to the conclusion that Kazakh and Kyrgyz attitudes toward gender and food are somewhat different from those of others in the region in that they are significantly less influenced by religion.

Most families…