It starts out like any gymnastics class: A teacher guides a roomful of women through stretching and breathing exercises. The yoga, ballet and tai chi moves train pelvic muscles, the stomach and legs. You only realize you are in a "sex class" when the egg-shaped stones appear. They are used for vaginal weightlifting, a Chinese technique for strengthening muscles and increasing sensitivity in the genital area.
The goal is something rarely discussed in Kyrgyzstan: better sex. When she opened three years ago, people were skeptical. Now the school has more than students between the ages of 18 and In the Soviet Union, sex was a taboo topic and femininity discouraged. Women proudly showed their feminine sensitivity, elegance and emotionality," she says, adding that she was surprised by how comfortable Chinese men and women seemed around each other.
Back in Kyrgyzstan, talking about sexuality is still discouraged. Thus many young people are confused about sex. That leads to all sorts of problems, says Bubusara Ryskulova, director of the Sezim women's crisis center. People were not ready," she says.
This was interpreted the wrong way and rapes happened. Since , with foreign donor support, Sezim has operated Bishkek's only women's shelter. They also offer a hotline and counseling. About 3, women seek Sezim's help each year: some 60 percent are fleeing domestic abuse; others face trafficking and bride kidnapping.
A lack of awareness about sex contributes to the abuse, Ryskulova says, citing the example of a woman abused by her husband for 20 years. They had had an arranged marriage and the husband repeatedly raped her.
