Despite the fact that the Kazakhstani authorities forced Dinara Smailova, the founder of the Break Silence movement, to leave the country, the campaign to defend women’s rights is entering a new phase – the creation of NeMolchi Network.
The association “Не молчи” (Break Silence) was founded on July 9th 2016. It is headed by a well-known Kazakh activist and feminist, Dinara Smailova, more known by the name Dina Tansari. Its main goal is to protect children and women from different sorts of abuses they may encounter.
From 2017, the association of assistance and help towards different abuses took another great step. Indeed, it became a public foundation. The initiative of Dinara Smailova’s association took greater proportions as in 2023, another group was launched in Georgia, called “Break Silence”. In the same way, a group was also founded in Montenegro on 4th May 2026. As a result, the actions of the foundation may no longer be restricted to only one country, a great progress for that cause.
The principal mission of those organisations, led by women, are to help and assist other women and children, through procedures and legal advice, as they have a team that works non-stop, fighting against abuses and protecting their rights. They have provided around 83 000 free consultations and have pronounced themselves in 354 cases concerning criminal cases and 117 convictions because of crimes against children. Therefore, their work does not stop here, as they have been able to convict police officers violating the law as well as they reduced the sentence pronounced against seven illegally persecuted women.
The foundation also provides 700 analysis and information materials. Their work is not only necessary but also constant through society and the different laws published. Indeed, as in 2025, a law was published to criminalize domestic violence or strengthen criminal penalties for domestic violence heavier sentences for violence and crimes against children. In the end, protection services have been implemented to prevent bullying, violence and abuses. Their work is necessary to obtain rights and the implementation of them among the cases they bother.
Therefore, those actions have a price, as the founder of the “Не Молчи” group, Dinara Smailova has been forced to leave Kazakhstan. She, through her work, criticised the protection given by Kazakhstan and the implementation of it, which she considered to be inefficient. Indeed, 6 criminal cases have been opened against Dinara Smailova, as evidenced by a letter of the 24th May 2024 from the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva. She also has been accused of fraud, dissemination of knowingly false information and violation of privacy, according to the Articles 147, 190 and 274 of the Kazakh Criminal Code. Her safety was highly threatened if she remained in Kazakhstan.
Because of those wrong accusations and the systematic targetment of Kazakhstan’s Gouvernement, she was forced to leave the country. She has been seeking asylum, with her husband, Almat, for about 20 months. She has also been under surveillance by, as she says, a Kazakh spy. That needs to alert society as, as a reminder, another Kazakh journalist died last year, as he was seeking asylum in Ukraine. Therefore, no inquiries were opened on that case and the Kazakh Government remained silent.
At last, Dinara Smailova risks everyday for her safety, because of her commitment to Human rights. Montenegro, as a democratic and country committed to Human Rights must give her the asylum she seeks for, so she would be able to access the protection of the State and be given the rights to live freely.
