Women’s Mobility and ‘Transport-Related Social Exclusion’ in Bishkek

Citation:

Turdalieva, Cholpon, and Christopher Edling. 2018. “Women’s Mobility and ‘Transport-Related Social Exclusion’ in Bishkek.” Mobilities 13 (4): 535–50.

Authors: Cholpon Turdalieva, Christopher Edling

Abstract:

This paper analyses gendered mobilities in Bishkek in the space of the most popular form of public transport: the minibus, or ‘marshrutka’. As the means by which women often access various important sites of daily life, the marshrutka itself is a site of negotiation and interaction. Utilizing theories of mobility and empirical data, we argue that marshrutkas are spaces that can give rise to two dichotomous conditions: positive marshrutka experiences may increase the social mobility of female passengers and subsequently increase social empowerment and influence, while negative ones can provide the grounds for social exclusion and gender inequality.

Keywords: mobility, gender, transport, social mobility, social exclusion

Annotation:

Topics: Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Infrastructure, Transportation Regions: Asia, Central Asia Countries: Kyrgyzstan

Year: 2018