Women's protests in Central Asia and the Caucasus are embedded in the context of history, socioeconomics, politics, and gender. In spite of women's participation in the political and economic development of Central Asia and the Caucasus, gender roles still place women in the domestic arena. Within current contexts, women protestors utilize their gender roles as mothers to confront regional regimes. This produces new cultural frames for viewing local women as public women, protectors of men.

Central Asia is a cultural and geographic area of five countries situated in c…