Erkingul Bekbachaevna Imankozhoeva is an environmental activist and politician from Kyrgyzstan.

Early life

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Erkingul Imankozhoeva was born on 19 October 1966 in the Jeti-Ögüz District of Issyk-Kul Region. For higher studies, she went to Uzbekistan and attended the Tashkent Institute of Textile and Light Industry.[1]

Career

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After completing her studies, Imankozhoeva took up a job at a textile factory in Bishkek, where she was made a chief engineer in 1991.[1] In 1998, people living near the Kumtor Gold Mine were badly affected after a truck carrying sodium cyanide fell into a river. Disheartened by the government's response Imankozhoeva formed Karek, an environmental organisation with the help of local people and after a long legal battle, they succeeded in obtaining US$3.7 million as compensation.[2] Flowers of Freedom, a documentary created by Mirjam Leuze on this event was showcased at the Berlin International Film Festival.[3]

Imankozhoeva won the 2010 Kyrgyz parliamentary election as a member of the Social Democratic Party and was elected to the Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan. She served on the house's committee on Agrarian Policy, Water Resources, Ecology and Local Self-Government.[1]

Personal life

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Imankozhoeva is married with two children.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "ИМАНКОЖОЕВА Эркингуль Бекбачаевна - Фракция СДПК" [Imankozhoeva Erkingul Bekbachaevna - Faction of the SDPK] (in Russian). Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  2. ^ Jalbert, Kirk; Willow, Anna; Casagrande, David; Paladino, Stephanie (2017). ExtrACTION: Impacts, Engagements, and Alternative Futures. Taylor & Francis. pp. 174–75. ISBN 978-1-351-84730-8.
  3. ^ "Flowers of Freedom". Berlin International Film Festival. Retrieved 12 November 2017.