Mahina Shodizoda

I am a journalist, volleyball player, and blogger.

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Latest posts by Mahina Shodizoda

Kazakh Artist Remembers Zhanaozen Oil Riot

  17 March 2014

Photo blogger Serikzhan Kovlanbaev presents [ru] a photo report from a recent exhibition of works by Saule Suleimenova, perhaps the best known contemporary artist in the country. Suleimenova has been described by another blogger as “one of Kazakhstan’s deepest, most interesting and prolific artists”. The theme of the exhibition is Zhanaozen,...

Speaking Through Graffiti in Kazakhstan

  15 March 2014

Over the last ten years, a street art group based in Almaty, Kazakhstan, has been using graffiti to express ideas and statements. The group, Repas Workshop, presents [ru] the most recent examples of their impressive graffiti artworks in a blog.

Kazakhstan's Charyn Canyon

  28 February 2014

Sergei Terekti presents [ru] a photo essay about his recent trip to Charyn Canyon, Kazakhstan's own smaller version of the Grand Canyon in the United States: The main canyon is about 150 kilometers long; the Charyn River crosses it. Multiple gorges, valleys, and smaller canyons surround the Charyn Canyon. One of the main...

Women Out For The Evening Risk Arrest in Turkmenistan

  28 February 2014

The Vienna-based opposition blog Chronicles of Turkmenistan reports that police in northern Turkmen town of Dashoguz raid cafes and restaurants in search of women out for the evening. According to the blog, single ladies and women dining without their husbands are taken to police stations. Chronicles of Turkmenistan alleged back in...

Tajikistan's Tastiest Blogs

  21 February 2014

There are three blogs in Tajikistan that are a must read for anyone interested in Tajik cuisine. Tajik Restaurant [Tarabkhonai Tojiki] [tj] shares cook-it-yourself videos and recipes of popular Tajik dishes. Suhailo's Cooking Diary [Daftari pukhtu-pazhoi Suhailo] [tj] teaches its readers to bake pastries popular in the country. Finally, Osh...

Kyrgyz MPs Explain Themselves Over a Prayer Room in Parliament

  21 February 2014

The recent opening of an Islamic prayer room in the Kyrgyz parliament has triggered a heated online debate about the boundaries between the state and religion in the Central Asian country. Responding to criticisms, MPs designed and circulated among journalists and bloggers a six-page document suggesting that prayer houses in...

‘Good Girls’ Don't Use Social Media Sites in Tajikistan

  29 January 2014

Sexist bullying and harassment of girls and women is widespread on social media sites in Tajikistan, according to Radio Ozodi [tj] (Tajik service of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty). The problem has to do with a strongly-held stereotype that female social media users are sexually promiscuous. On Odnoklassniki, the most popular...

Kazakhstan's Largest City Hides Its “Beautiful” Side from Cameras

  29 January 2014

Top rated Russian photo-blogger Ilya Varlamov presents [ru] a photo report about his recent trip to Almaty, Kazakhstan's capital before 1997. What the blogger found most surprising about the city is that police officers do not allow anyone “photographing anything good, beautiful, and new” in Almaty. Curious travelers are, therefore, restricted to...

Best Dresses of Kazakhstan Selected

  27 January 2014

On January 23, 2014, an international jury named the winners of the ‘Best Dress of Kazakhstan’ contest, a competition for young fashion designers in the country. Ten designers competed in the event, showcasing one or two of their best dresses. The three winners of the contest will represent Kazakhstan at...

“There Are No Other Problems” in Tajikistan Besides Name Games

  27 January 2014

More than a week after Tajikistan's Prosecutor General made a controversial statement about “unpatriotic” surnames, Internet users in the country continue debating whether the ending of one's surname is a good measure of the person's level of patriotism. Many netizens, however, are angry about the fact that the Prosecutor General...