Jamila Dzhamanbaeva, the Ombudsman of the Kyrgyz Republic, has called on government institutions to intensify joint efforts in the fight against domestic violence.
According to her, the current measures have not yet shown significant results, and the issue of violence against women and girls continues to be serious.
Dzhamanbaeva insists that law enforcement agencies conduct thorough and swift investigations into each case and apply strict measures against those who commit violence to demonstrate that such actions will not go unpunished.
Recently, information emerged online about a case where a husband set his wife on fire by dousing her with gasoline.
Staff from the Ombudsman's Institute, upon instruction from the ombudsman, contacted the mother of the victim.
The incident, according to the mother, occurred on October 15, 2025, in the village of Boo-Terek in the Bakai-Ata district of the Talas region.
The 28-year-old T.K.M. got married six years ago and is the mother of two girls.
She reported that on that day her son-in-law came home in a state of intoxication, had a quarrel, and beat his wife.
“He threatened her with an axe, then went outside in search of this tool. Returning with a canister of gasoline, he doused her and then went for matches. At that time, my daughter managed to hide her frightened children in another room, but she could not escape. When he lit the match, the fire engulfed her. She ran outside and tried to extinguish the flames with water from the tap. Passersby heard her screams and took her to the hospital,” shared the mother of N.K.
Three days later, the woman was transferred from the hospital in Talas to Bishkek due to her severe condition. She spent a month in intensive care and was treated in the burn unit of the City Clinical Emergency Hospital until December 18.
Relatives of the husband, without informing the family about what had happened, returned the woman back to Talas.
According to the mother, they misled the doctors, claiming that the daughter-in-law received burns while lighting the stove with gasoline and accidentally doused herself.
T.K.M. was only able to tell the truth to her family recently when her husband came home drunk again and started beating her. She called her mother and asked her to take her away.
Currently, the woman and her children are in Bishkek with her mother.
The victim needs psychological assistance and further treatment, as she has 60% burns on her body. They have filed a complaint with the Lenin District Department of Internal Affairs.
The Talas prosecutor's office has transferred the complaint from Bishkek to the Bakai-Ata District Department of Internal Affairs, and an investigation has been initiated.
The Ombudsman's Institute is ready to provide the woman with legal and psychological support.
According to data from the Bakai-Ata District Department of Labor, Social Protection, and Migration, the 32-year-old husband of the victim works at the Talas city hall and himself sustained minor burns. While the woman was in the hospital, her sister-in-law took care of her daughters.
The Ombudsman calls on law enforcement agencies to conduct an impartial investigation and hold all those responsible accountable under the law.
