If you switch to Turkmenistan’s official media channels, a clear pattern emerges in the portrayal of women in news reports, feature stories, and both fictional and documentary films. Women consistently occupy a central role in state narratives, presented not only as individuals but as symbols of national values, tradition, and virtue. To better understand this phenomenon, it is important to examine how state media construct and use gendered images to legitimize authoritarian power structures and propagate a certain social behavior that is consistent with the overall ideological goals of the state.
In Turkmenistan, where all media are under strict state control, such representations are neither neutral nor incidental. Media studies in the region have shown that any narrative broadcast through official channels is censored by the state authorities (Yazliyeva, 2020). In addition to formal censorship, there is a deep-rooted culture of self-censorship among editors and journalists who intuitively shape their content to meet the regime’s expectations. As a result, the portrayal of women in Turkmen media looks as a carefully curated aspect of the state’s broader ideological apparatus.
Women as Ideological Symbols: Understanding Media Narratives
To comprehend the prominent representation of women in Turkmen state media, the concepts of state feminism and gendered nationalism prove particularly insightful. State feminism pertains to state-driven initiatives aimed at enhancing women’s roles (McBride, Dorothy, and Mazur, 2006). However, in authoritarian regimes, this often indicates as a controlled display of empowerment. In Turkmenistan, media depictions of women as graceful, educated, and loyal to the nation serve to legitimize the regime while simultaneously reinforcing traditional gender roles and avoiding challenges to male-dominated power structures. It claims to promote gender equality, often projecting a modern or progressive image without real and meaningful empowerment.
Gendered nationalism describes how women are positioned as emblems of national identity – serving as mothers, moral guides, and custodians of cultural purity (Yuval-Davis, 1997). This is evident in Turkmen media through idealized portrayals of women in national attire, fulfilling domestic and ceremonial roles.
These depictions help to define the state’s vision of nationhood and social order. Taken together, these frameworks (state feminism and gendered nationalism) illustrate how the representation of women in the media is instrumentalized for the regime’s broader agenda of ideological control and nation-building, which can be prioritized through the policy of “türkmençilik” – turkmenness – (Clement, 2018), which has been developed and promoted in Turkmenistan since its independence (Turkmenbashy, 2001, 2004). This policy continues to be a central ideology that combines national traditional culture, language, loyalty to the motherland and the state leader. The promotion of the central role of women in the state media is the crucial part of türkmençilik policy, which proves the symbolic role of women in the ideology of nation-building. Images of Turkmen women in traditional dress and as housewives can appear theatrical, highlighting the peculiarities of Turkmen media content. Descriptions such as “Her bir zenanyň asylly, salyhatly, sypaýy görünmegi hem milliligimiziň nyşanydyr” (“The noble, virtuous and polite appearance of every woman is a symbol of our national identity”) and “Başlary tahýaly gyzlarymyzy synlanyňda, nädip olara guwanmajak?!” (“When you see our girls wearing traditional headdresses – tahýa – how can you not be proud?!”) idealize a conventionalized image of women that is deeply interwoven with ethnic and cultural symbolism, which represent a part of the state’s nationalist agenda through türkmençilik policy.
Traditional turkmen dress (a long-sleeved, colorful maxi dress with embroidery, adorned with traditional handmade silver and gold jewelry with stones) and the image of the housekeeper (mother, wife, guardian) have taken on new forms with excessive and tasteless consumption, the consumer culture. These consumer roles defined by the state reinforce social stability and do not challenge political power and male authority. The form of ornate traditional dress, weddings with luxurious traditional elements and home decorations give women a public role that is consistent with türkmençilik values as defined by the regime. While these practices boost the economy and support local industries such as textiles and jewelry, they also promote a highly visible form of patriotism that constrains women’s agency in ways that are favorable to the regime.
From Soviet Progressivism to Post-Soviet Traditionalism
In both Soviet and post-Soviet contexts, women have been instrumentalized, though their roles, aesthetics, and moral frameworks have transitioned from Soviet progressivism to authoritarian traditionalism. Under Soviet ideology, the state delineated the role of Turkmen women by emphasizing gender equality in labor and education, promoting them as part of a modernization and control project. Women were encouraged to pursue professions such as medicine and teaching, with aggressive campaigns to enhance female literacy and education in both urban and rural areas (Clement, 2018, 37-38). A liberation movement among Muslim women emerged, prohibiting discrimination based on traditional faith. The Soviet nation’s image was cultivated with the active promotion of women’s roles, portraying them as civilizing agents who helped disseminate Soviet values to remote regions.
Turkmen women. Photo by Boris Khudoyarov, 1928.
In contemporary Turkmenistan, women’s roles have been redefined as guardians of tradition and national purity. In post-Soviet Turkmenistan, particularly under Presidents Saparmurat Niyazov and Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov, women and girls are primarily depicted as mothers and cultural preservers, symbols of national identity, patriotic daughters of the state, and caregivers and domestic figures (Berdimukhamedov, 2024). These roles are deeply gendered, idealizing women for their beauty, modesty, and loyalty rather than for their professional or political contributions and high-level decision-making efforts. The state exerts control not only over narratives concerning women’s societal roles but also over their public appearances, regulating personal choices. For instance, schoolgirls regardless of their ethnicity are required to wear traditional Turkmen dress and headdresses – tahýa – and two braids, and women in government positions must dress traditional embroidered garments.
Crafting Ideal Womanhood Through State-Orchestrated Events
The photo below depicts a public assembly of women attending a training seminar entitled “Proud Women of the New Era, Striving for the Heights of Development,” conducted at the National “Ak Bugdaý” Museum in the city of Änew.
Photo: zenan.gov.tm
This event, co-organized by the Central Council of the Women’s Union of Turkmenistan and its Ahal regional branch, exemplifies the use of state-sponsored venues to shape and perpetuate the official narrative of womanhood. During the seminar, participants commended the government for its provision of social benefits to young mothers, expressing their gratitude to Gahryman Arkadag – Hero Arkadag-Protector (the former president) and Arkadagly
Gahryman Serdar – Hero Serdar with Arkadag (the current president) fortheir “tireless efforts”.
These expressions of loyalty are not incidental; they form part of a broader discursive pattern in which women are publicly positioned as grateful beneficiaries of state generosity. Through such media narratives, women’s identities are constructed to embody family devotion, cultural continuity, and unwavering loyalty to leadership. These representations extend beyond symbolic appreciation; they function as political instruments, reinforcing a vision of womanhood that aligns with the regime’s authoritarian and patriarchal order. This reflects the regime’s broader attempt to define acceptable womanhood, leaving little room for personal expression or dissent.
This idealized portrayal is reinforced by everyday cultural references and seemingly apolitical narratives that infuse ideological expectations into traditional practices. For example, the article “Zenan Gözelligi – zeminiň görki” (Female Beauty is the Beauty of the Earth) from April 21, 2025, published by the state media, presents narratives on a range of traditional beliefs and superstitions related to women’s dress: “Köýnegiň ýakasy, adatça, bagjyk bilen baglanypdyr. Enemamalarymyzyň aýtmaklaryna görä, zenanlar ýakasyna iki bagjyk edipdirler. Ýakanyň ýokarsyndaky bagjyk «Hakyky bagjyk» diýlip atlandyrylýar. Ondan aşakdaky bagjyga «Edep bagjygy» diýlipdir. Ony, köplenç, ýaş çagaly gelinler dakynypdyrlar. Zenan geýimleri bilen bagly asylly däplerimiz häzirki wagtda hem mynasyp dowam etdirilýär” – (“The collar of the dress is traditionally fastened with a decorative tie, the bagjyk. According to our grandmothers, women used to fasten two bagjyks to the collar. The top tie was called the ‘true bagjyk‘ (hakyky bagjyk). The one underneath was known as the ‘modesty bagjyk‘ (edep bagjygy), which was mostly worn by young mothers. Our noble traditions regarding women’s clothing are still preserved with dignity today”).
Implications for Women’s Status and Agency
The shift towards traditional, state-controlled roles for women in Turkmenistan has had a significant impact on their social status, autonomy, and political agency. By idealizing women as cultural symbols rather than active citizens with agency, the regime limits the scope of acceptable female participation in public life. Women are celebrated primarily for their roles as mothers, wives, and guardians of preserving and passing on traditions, while their voice in politics, civil society, and decision-making is minimized or non-existent.
This symbolic reverance masks structural inequality and reinforces a deeply patriarchal order. Furthermore, by emphasizing modesty, obedience, and appearance, women are increasingly subjected to social surveillance and state control. As a result, women’s agency is constrained not only by legal and institutional barriers but also by cultural expectations reinforced by media and education. A form of “controlled visibility” emerges in which women are highly visible in ceremonial contexts, yet structurally invisible in spaces of power.
Investing in Research on the Symbolic Representation of Women in State Media Narratives
A crucial yet under-examined aspect is the representation of women in state media as preservers of “Türkmençilik – Turkmenness,” which reinforces traditionalist ideologies and legitimizes the regime’s power. These portrayals restrict women’s identities to limited cultural roles and serve as tools of social control, contributing to the suppression of dissent. The generation of young women who do not conform to these roles often seek opportunities abroad for personal and intellectual freedom. To understand these dynamics, there is a need for multidisciplinary research by scholars with cultural and academic expertise. International institutions and donors are encouraged to support this scholarship through funding and collaborative platforms, as it is essential to develop complex analyses that inform regional policy and discussions of gender in authoritarian political culture and identity politics.
By Oguljamal Yazliyeva, Ph.D., Charles University
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not reflect the opinions or views of the editorial group and other authors who write for the publication. Progres.online creates a space for the expression of diverse opinions in Turkmenistan.
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