Women's grassroots struggles for empowerment in the Republic of Kazakhstan

We discuss women's grassroots strategies for economic empowerment in the Republic of Kazakhstan. We examine women's activism through two case studies-a business women's group initiated during socialism and a cooperative formed under capitalism. We answer the following questions: What were the catalysts to women's activism? What forms have their activism taken and why? What connections, if any, are there between women's political activism of the past and their contemporary forms of activism? Our analysis reveals that Kazakhstani women are choosing an interesting mix of "old" and "new" forms of strategies for empowerment.