All football matches of the fifth round of the Premier League of Kyrgyzstan will be held within the framework of the campaign against violence against women. The Kyrgyz Professional Football League announced on its Instagram page.
The day before, within the framework of the campaign, the players of Kara-Balta and Neftchi football clubs played a match with red stripes on their faces. They symbolize the red card to violence against women from players of the Premier League clubs, the Association of Professional Football Players of Kyrgyzstan and the Kyrgyz Professional Football League.
«We all must work hard and make every effort to put an end to this savagery; the football players are ready to play their part. The phenomenon of violence against women becomes more and more savage and unacceptable,» Rustam Dzhanybaev, President of the Association of Professional Football Players, said.
«We, athletes, cannot stand aside and stand together against any manifestation of violence, especially against the women. The strength of a man is manifested in the care and support of the family. I urge all athletes not to stand aside and support the campaign,» the captain of Neftchi football team Argen Zhumataev said.
Aizada Kanatbekova, 26, was abducted on April 5. Footage of the incident was posted on social media. Two days later, she and her abductor were found dead. This story shocked the Kyrgyzstanis. They are outraged that the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not draw any conclusions from the tragedy of Burulai.
Following an internal investigation, a number of police officials were reprimanded or dismissed, including the head of the Central Internal Affairs Department of Bishkek Bakyt Matmusaev.
