Zhanar Sekerbayeva is a co-founder of the Kazakhstan Feminist Initiative “Feminita”. She is a feminist, powerlifter and poet. In her work she aims at expanding the concept of ‘gender’ in the general public discourse through activism by mainstreaming questions of gender identity in the academia. She graduated with Summa Cum Laude from the ‘Gumilev’ Eurasian National University in 2005, as well as from the ‘Lomonosov’ Moscow State University in 2009. In 2014 she enrolled at the European Humanities University (Lithuania) MA program in Sociology with focus on gender and culture. Completed study at the University of Tsukuba, Japan towards a PhD degree. Her doctoral dissertation focuses on the processes of regulating identities and “normalization” of transgender people in Kazakhstan, where she is interested in understanding how the gatekeeping practices of legal professionals may or may not be shaping the gender identities of transgender individuals as they seek legal affirmation. Her latest publication is a chapter in the “Women, Sport and Exercise in the Asia-Pacific Region: Domination, Resistance, Accommodation” edited by Molnar G., Sara N. Amin, Yoko Kanemasu, as part of the Routledge Research in Sports, Culture and Society series.
