Qyzylorda Schoolgirl: Victim's Mother Speaks with Orda

The Orda.kz editorial team has been closely following the situation of a schoolgirl from Qyzylorda. She endured six months of sexual exploitation. Her friend and classmate were among the exploiters. We have talked to the girl's mother.

Tell us about your family, your daughter, your son. What is your relationship with your husband and children?

— I work from home as a math and logic tutor. I have temporarily stopped working, but my students still ask to come. My husband works as a driver-forwarder. We have a very kind family, so much so that no one even talks loudly at home. I speak the loudest because I am a teacher. We never argue. For the last two months, we have had 24-hour security: they are on duty at home and outside. My son lives in Almaty, works as a barista in a cafe.

My daughter graduated from 11th grade this year. We are a Russian-speaking family; my grandmother on my father's side is Russian. My son studied in a class with Russian as the language of instruction. I decided that at least one family member should speak Kazakh, so the others would start speaking it. In our country, and especially in Qyzylorda, most people speak Kazakh. Because of this, I sent my daughter to a Kazakh-language group in a nursery and to school as well.

They studied together with a cousin, but in the second grade, he transferred to a class with Russian as the language of instruction since he could not study as he was supposed to. But my daughter wanted to stay. I understood that, at first, she would not understand much and did not demand high marks from her.

After she finished ninth grade, I took her to study in Almaty. We traveled all over the city, but she could not decide on a specialty or place of study. I realized that she was still little — our only daughter had not grown up yet. So we returned to Qyzylorda and decided that she would finish 11th grade at her old school.

Does she have any hobbies, what does she do in her free time?

— My daughter has always loved dancing. When she was younger, I took her to dance classes. I would wait for her outside the door while she did it. But one day, she came to me and said, “Mom, the girls there are rude and disrespectful.” She only went there for two weeks and then said, “I won’t go anymore. The girls there call me names; I don’t like it.” After that, she started dancing at home. At school, dancing became her true passion. She participated in all the events, came up with and choreographed the numbers herself. Thanks to her efforts, their class always won prizes.

When my daughter was in elementary school, she was just beginning to discover her love for dancing. But her real passion emerged in the 6th and 7th grades. She no longer just did but staged her own dance routines, taught other girls, and helped organize performances. Dancing became her source of inspiration. Over time, her interests expanded, and she became interested in the Italian language. Unfortunately, there were no teachers in our city, so she began to learn the language on her own, watching videos on YouTube and studying it at home.

But then came the difficult period. After all that had happened, we went to a psychiatric examination in Turkestan.

There, she underwent treatment, and, at first, everything seemed better, but after the psychiatric examination, her condition worsened dramatically. The treatment that appeared to be working seemed to vanish. When we returned home, she was depressed, crying and sobbing. In a fit of despair, she tore up her Italian notebook, the one she had kept with such diligence. Her psychological state worsened, and now she finds it very difficult to cope.

But I think she will gradually return to her previous self. We now have a dog and a kitten at home, and she plays with them, takes care of them, which also helps her.

What about university?

— She hasn’t been accepted anywhere yet. She applied to the Russian university “Synergy,” and we were waiting for a response, which was supposed to come by phone. But it was at the Department of Internal Affairs then, and we couldn’t get the results in time. Ultimately, I decided that this year, we would forget about studying; we’d focus on her well-being.

Have you decided to stay in Qyzylorda?

— We are currently waiting. They are not letting us leave the city because the investigation is still ongoing. We want to leave, and as soon as we have the opportunity, we will. There is security here, 24 hours a day, until the trial ends. As soon as the trial is over, we will be able to leave immediately.

What do you know about the suspects?

— Nuray is my daughter’s classmate, and Zhanur is her cousin, Damir is also a classmate, and Asylzhan is his cousin. Nuray lives with her mother and her little brother, who is about 9–10 years old, and her mother works as a nurse on a rotational basis. Damir also lives with his mother. Their parents are not influential people. They led an idle life off the money my daughter made, forced her to transfer money to them every hour. My daughter never received a penny, and they didn’t even allow her to use some money for traveling.

Why was your daughter friends with Nuray?

— In the 10th grade, when Nuray started coming around often, I asked my daughter this question. She answered that two more of her close friends had gone to college. In the class, one-third of the girls looked very mature, and one-third were younger. The two of them were somewhere in the middle.

Did you ever notice that your daughter was being abused?

— I never noticed. Only in the 10th grade did she come home from school crying and say that the Kazakh language teacher hated her and always showed it with abusive language since my daughter is Russian-speaking. I wanted to go to school and sort it out. But my daughter was against it, saying that she had a little bit of school left to finish.

There is a version that you were not in the city the whole time. Is this true?

— I was not in the city before these incidents. As soon as my husband called me and said that my daughter had found a job somewhere, I returned to Qyzylorda that same day.

At the school, we were told that you could not find common ground with your daughter, which is why you turned to teachers for help. Is this true?

- Yes, it's true. I really did go to the school for help in March, but I only heard swearing and threats that we would lose our parental rights and that my daughter would be sent to a specialized boarding school. 

The police claim that they found your daughter in a Qyzylorda sauna during a raid and brought her in. But you said that some boy told you everything?

- It's untrue. We have evidence and a witness who brought her home on the morning of August 6. She was not found in a sauna. I can't tell you all the details yet because I would violate investigation confidentiality, but later I will definitely tell you everything about the clients. Believe me, you will be shocked by this list.

When will the investigation be completed and how many people have been charged?

— It is unclear how many people have been detained and how many will be held accountable since we have not been called to the Department of Internal Affairs for 10 days. But I know that five more investigators have been brought on board. They said that the investigation would be completed by the end of October. One case has already gone to court, one to the prosecutor's office, and three are ready. I signed them. Among the suspects are law enforcement officers and influential people.

How did you find out about this situation?

— I found out about it on August 6, when my daughter came home. Let's go back a year. On August 13, Nuray arrives from Astana; my daughter arrives from Almaty. That same day, they go to her cousin Zhannur's birthday party. Before that, my daughter had only seen Zhannur and had not communicated closely. After August, Zhannur began to appear in their lives more often, presenting herself as a loving sister. In November 2023, she began to drink tequila in front of them, claiming that it was very fun and cool. On January 14, 2024, Zhannur suggested that my daughter try e-cigarettes and alcohol. And then she was forced to engage in prostitution. Throughout the entire time, right up until August, until everything was revealed.

You said that the girl was intimidated, including by boxers?

— Yes, she was intimidated and blackmailed. When my daughter was at Nuray’s house, they constantly demonstrated their superiority. Zhannur casually showed that she was influential and strong and that her brother worked for the KNB. She said that her friends were boxers and hooligans.  She also took a photo of my daughter naked in the shower, through a window. Nuray was visible. That day, they drank tequila, contending who could drink more.

After January 14, she showed my daughter the photos and videos and began to talk her into registering on the Kyzdar.net website. At the same time, my daughter began to ask me for money often. In the morning, afternoon, and evening, she asked me to send her 1,000–1,500 tenge.

They also took her iPhone 11 for refusing to register on the site. They began to blackmail her, claiming that they would show the nude video to us.

On January 20–25, she was finally registered on the site, but my daughter was not really worried since she understood that she was underage, and it was unlikely that anyone would be interested in her. On February 4, she was ordered to go to the club and look for clients. That day, she was raped for the first time. My daughter hoped until the very end that she would be pitied and that nothing would happen. She begged him not to touch her, but he took advantage of her anyway.

On top of that, she was abused every day. They took videos of her, choked her. I saw all these videos, but I couldn't finish watching them because my daughter lost consciousness. Zhanur, twice as big as my daughter, jumped on her when she was sleeping on the couch. They broke eggs on her head.

Why didn't she say anything? Why did she tolerate the abuse?

— Because Zhannur constantly said that her brother worked for the KNB. She felt impunity and said that if she was convicted, he would still get her out. Zhannur's sister is also married to an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Astana. She clearly demonstrated this and implied that nothing would happen to her for what she did.

How did what was happening affect her studies and attendance at school? 

— At the end of February, my daughter said she got a job. I was shocked because the UNT (standardized test - Ed.) was coming up, and she had been preparing for it. All of November, December, and January.

Despite preparation, she didn’t get the desired number of points on the practice exam and was upset. Her father and I called her every day, encouraging her. So, her job came as a shock to us. My daughter said she had broken her phone and wanted to earn money for a new one. Her father and I promised to buy her a new one for her birthday, but she said no. She didn’t listen to us. We forbade her, brought her home all the time, but it was all to no avail.

I had to threaten her to get her to come home. I would call and say that if she didn't return now, I would go to the school. She would come back and then run away again. She would lie, say she would come back in 10-15 minutes, and then disappear for five hours.

Did you go to the school?

— When I realized that talking was pointless, I went to the school. I wanted to find out what was going on, maybe I didn’t know something. The teacher said that it was most likely because she failed the UNT. At the same time, she said that the girl was under Nuray’s influence, that she sat at the same desk with her, and that they even slept together during lessons. She sent me photos of them from school.

I went to school several times, and at some point, the psychologist and the head teacher started threatening me.

They said that if I continued complaining, my daughter would be taken to a specialized boarding school. In such specialized boarding schools, there are children from dysfunctional families, drug addicts, drinkers.

They convinced me that my daughter would be raped and abused there, that she had too soft a character and would not be able to stand up for herself. The head teacher for educational work convinced me that there were a few months left until the end of the school year and that it should be put up with it. They did not let me write a statement to the police.

In April, I couldn't take it anymore and called the district police officer. He came to our house, talked to my daughter and..started crying. He didn't write anything down, didn't draw up a report, but just cried, explaining that she had everything for a happy life, which he didn't have as a child.

Has your daughter's behavior changed at home?

— My children usually got up early in the morning, had porridge for breakfast, and went to school. They got up on their own, without any problems. She overslept, did not always observe hygiene, walked around with greasy hair, did not find the strength to take care of herself.

She started wearing closed clothes, slept in sweaters. It seemed like it was already May, hot, but she was still wearing sweatshirts. She skipped classes, preparation for graduation. She came to her graduation celebration in pants, although I gave her money for her hair, makeup, and dress. I tried to persuade her to buy nice shoes. I transferred about 60 thousand tenge to her for a salon, but she never spent it.

At some point, we finally bought her an iPhone 15 Pro Max, the latest model at the time.

She and her father went and bought it at a shopping center so that our daughter wouldn't be so down. And after a while, we discovered again that she was walking around with her old phone. It turned out that she and Nuray had pawned it for 400 thousand tenge. The pawnshop transferred the money to Nuray's account, but where it went next is unknown.

Every time she disappeared, I kept asking her: "Honey, what's wrong? Tell us, let us help you come home." I tried in every way to bring her back and figure out what was happening to her. She didn't even hint that something like that had happened.

Now I understand that I behaved incorrectly. She was afraid that if we found out the whole truth, we would not be able to bear it, that something would definitely happen to us. She was worried about her parents, about her grandmother. My daughter saw that we were upset because she was not at home and was worried that something else would make things worse.

You have lived in Qyzylorda for a long time. What is unique about this region? Is there a certain tendency towards sexualized crimes in the city?

— Our city is small, and if something happens, then everyone will know about it. People are mostly passive. And since it is the southern region of the country, many condemn someone's actions. They ask what the mother was doing, and they claim that the daughter should have been dragged in by the hair and kept at home.

They often say that it is a disgrace, a shame, that such a case should not have been advertised. But these people do not understand that if everyone remains silent, then this can affect their families too. After all, my daughter was being forced to find other girls like her.

The head of NeMolchi, Dina Tansari, reported about the situation with the schoolgirl. The foundation's representatives claim that she was sexually exploited for several months and that teachers knew about it but ignored it.

An Orda journalist went to the city to clarify the details. 

Original Author: Olga Ibraeva

This is a translated piece. The text has been modified, the content is the same. For accuracy, please refer to the original article in Russian. The original article was published on 11/10/24.