Women, peace and security: a story from Kyrgyzstan
For three years of border service work, 28-year-old Nurkyz Nurlanova has maintained more than 150 automated passport readers at the Manas International Airport in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
Nurkyz works at the Manas International Airport border checkpoints as an officer of the Automated Border Control System (ABCS). Eight people work with her, and despite her young age, Nurkyz is not only the only woman in her Department, but she leads it as well.
ABCS is a unified information system that records external migration flows into Kyrgyzstan, and is designed to promptly collect and process information about persons crossing the state border and foreigners staying on the territory of Kyrgyzstan.
Getting interested in border service
From early childhood, Nurkyz watched her father with great interest and enthusiasm when he repaired cars, and often helped him. Soon, she gradually learned how to fix household appliances herself. Later, Nurkyz decided to study engineering, successfully passed the selection test for admission to a local university, becoming the only one among her peers to successfully graduate from her studies.
Nurkyz’ service in the ranks of the Border Service of the State Committee for National Security of the Kyrgyz Republic (BS SCNS) began in 2018 in the village of Novopokrovka, in Chui province. She made this choice consciously: "my mother is a housewife, but she has always dreamed of working in the Border Service. Her stories about the importance of ensuring stability, maintaining peace and security motivated me to consider a career in this field, and now I understand that I have answered my calling," - says Nurkyz with a smile on her face.
About the Border Service job
In 2019, she was transferred to the passport control department at Manas International Airport, and soon she received her first promotion to the officer rank. "My goal is to get the rank of colonel, since now that I have become a service officer, I can count on a long-term career in the Border Service," - Nurkyz shares her plans.
In her spare time, Nurkyz often regretfully watched the dusty devices lying in the airport warehouse, hoping to give a second chance to the equipment that was sitting there, out of service. One day, Nurkyz stocked up with a screwdriver, a soldering iron, and began working on restoring old equipment, and soon she put into operation all the faulty equipment available in warehouse stock.
The Border Service management noticed Nurkyz’s enthusiasm and efforts, and in February 2022 promoted her to head the ABCS department, which is responsible for maintaining the serviceability of all existing equipment at the airport and improving the efficiency of the checkpoints. Nurkyz is always happy to share her knowledge and experience with colleagues in various provinces of Kyrgyzstan, who often turn to her for professional advice.
Nurkyz believes that her job undoubtedly requires discipline, solid communication skills, dedication, readiness to stand night shifts, and strength of mind and spirit.
"Most importantly, one has to be ready to continue doing what is necessary with no fear!"
A turning point in her career was a trip to Minsk in March 2021, where a plant of the company “Regula” is located. It is one of the world's largest manufacturers of expert products for verifying the authenticity of documents, banknotes and securities. It was a weeklong specialized training on the repair and maintenance of document readers, organized with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek.
This course helped Nurkyz to improve her professional skills, thereby gaining more confidence in her abilities. Nurkyz is certain that nothing is impossible in life - for both women and men, "Most importantly, one has to be ready to continue doing what is necessary with no fear!" She has big plans and goals ahead.
The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek has been supporting Kyrgyzstan's efforts to increase the capacity of border service personnel within the framework of the project "Strengthening regional co-operation and increasing the capacity of the Border Service in countering cross-border challenges and threats" since 2016.