Identity politics in Central Asia exists on different levels – international, regional, and local. In the first, East (tradition) confronts West (modernity). In the second, attempts are made to distinguish among the various national groupings of the region, while the third focuses on internal differences, at national, local, or clan level. In all three, much of the discourse takes place around gender identities, and images of women are used as counters in male political games.

During the 1920s the Bolsheviks attempted to re-engineer Central Asian gender identities, esp…