Aqmola Health Worker Cleared After Public Outcry: "It Was Hard to Watch My Son Become the Talk of the Country"

The Aqmola Region Health Department has overturned disciplinary action against Zarema Mukasheva, an employee who was reprimanded for being away from work for nearly two hours to take her autistic son to a doctor.

The case sparked nationwide debate about inclusivity, bureaucracy, and empathy in public service.

Mukasheva received hundreds of messages of support from citizens and colleagues, while those who had disciplined her faced widespread public criticism.

Two Orders

Following Orda.kz’s publication, the Civil Service Agency’s regional department requested the disciplinary materials. After reviewing them, the agency sent a letter to the Health Department, which became the basis for canceling the sanction.

Nariman Yermek, the current head of the department, signed the original reprimand and the cancellation. 

The internal investigation was conducted in August — before I arrived. I had already been given an order to sign this disciplinary sanction in the form of a reprimand,
 Yermek said.

Although often dismissed as minor, a reprimand carries real consequences: a negative entry in the employee’s record, the loss of bonuses and incentives, and barriers to promotion.

The reprimand became a marker for Zarema's professional and social injustice. 

An Emotional Trial

After the case drew national attention, Mukasheva and her son completed the necessary examinations. Her son was diagnosed with childhood autism and assigned second-degree disability status.

He was diagnosed with childhood autism and given a second-degree disability. I feel devastated. It's emotionally difficult. I guess, like any mother, I hoped the diagnosis wouldn't be confirmed the woman said.

The past months, she explained, have been an emotional trial.

She had to publicly reveal private family struggles — her husband’s two strokes and her son’s condition.

It was especially hard to watch my son, who didn't understand anything, but who was essentially the talk of the entire country. He hadn't done anything wrong to anyone. The first few days after the discplinary council and the publication, I wanted to cry all the time. I had no desire to go to work. A nagging thought kept running through my head: everything written in legal documents — the Labor Code, the laws "On Marriage and Family," and "On the Rights of the Child in the Republic of Kazakhstan" — exists only on paper. In reality, everything is different.

People often asked me, ‘Why are you still there?’ The pay is low, the workload enormous. I always said: because it’s honorable, prestigious, stable. But now I doubt that. You can hide behind talk of discipline and duty, but this story is about bias and pressure. I didn’t do anything illegal or damaging to the department’s reputation. This kind of situation happens in any workplace — someone leaves early, someone stays late. The main thing is balance.

But I received countless words of support from healthcare workers — they wrote and called me. They said they condemned the actions of the former management (Serik Sakhiyev, who held the position for the past six months; the internal investigation was conducted on his orders — Ed.), but for obvious reasons, they couldn't speak out openly. There were many calls from loved ones and even from complete strangers — doctors, lawyers, and public figures offering assistance. This was supportive and gave me hope. I am very grateful to them all.

Many mothers of special children wrote and called. Some shared their difficulties — how difficult it is to combine work, everyday life, and caring for such a child. Others, on the contrary, spoke of incredible support from colleagues and management: they gave them half a day off, even though they’d only asked for an hour, and provided company transportation. Hearing this was both pleasant and insulting. I wondered: why hasn’t this attitude become the norm in our society? After all, families raising children with disabilities truly live at a different pace — they have a completely different routine and way of life. 

I haven’t received a response yet, but I’m hoping for a positive decision. I plan to enroll my son in swimming lessons and take him there in the evenings after work. 

A Lesson

Soon after the disciplinary case, Mukasheva attended the World Congress on Inclusive Education in Almaty, which she described as transformative.

I looked at my situation from a different perspective. I spoke with mothers raising children with a similar diagnosis. People from different countries shared their stories. And now I want to express my deepest gratitude to the educators in the education system. I saw how difficult it is for them too, and how many nuances there are in their invaluable work that I hadn’t even considered before.

I think my story has become a ray of hope for many families raising children with disabilities. People have seen that society cares and condemns callousness and snobbery. I hope such incidents don’t happen again.

The mother concluded with cautious optimism — grateful for the public support and for the eventual justice she received, but still critical of a system that allowed it to happen.

I saw complete indifference on the part of the regional akimat, which sent my former boss to the inclusion congress. This person has already demonstrated his attitude toward families raising children with disabilities. I hope that other people will address this issue in our region. I received an order rescinding the penalty. The internal investigation is 40 pages long, and the rescission is just two lines long, without even a name. But I feel joy. I felt how humane people are, and this whole story has become a step toward an intelligent, civilized society.

Original Author: Asel Turar