Migrant women in Turkey: risks and hopes along the Silk Road

The lack of recognised legal status exposes thousands of Central Asian women to serious dangers in Turkey. The case of two Uzbek women whose bodies were found in rubbish bins caused a stir in Istanbul this year. Without documents, working in private homes is often their only option for survival, but at the same time it is a trap.

Istanbul (AsiaNews) – Tens of thousands of women from Central Asia arrive in Turkey to work, but strict immigration laws and the lack of legal status often force them into isolated domestic work, where they find themselves completely dependent on their employers and vulnerable to violence. Their disappearances, exploitation and murders highlight a crisis that remains largely unnoticed outside their communities. The Azattyk website reports on these situations.

Earlier this year, the decapitated bodies of two Uzbek women, Durdona Khakimova and Sajora Ergašalieva, were found in Istanbul, dumped in rubbish bins. These brutal crimes sparked protests across Turkey. Women’s rights activists took to the streets to highlight the systemic vulnerability of women, particularly migrant women.

“This is inhumane. These people should rot in prison,” says Durdona, a relative of the victims. “She came here just to work… These girls are innocent.” Violence against women in Turkey continues to rise: according to the Independent Centre for Social and Political Research, 420 women were murdered in 2025, and a further 508 died in suspicious circumstances.

Despite the protests, the crimes continue. Whilst society was discussing the double murder that took place in January, on 2 March the remains of another woman were found in a forest in the province of Balikesir; she is believed to be an Uzbek migrant who went missing two months earlier, but the results of the DNA test have not yet been published.

For a long time, Russia remained the main destination for labour migration from Central Asia, but following the 2014 economic crisis, more and more people began to choose Turkey because of its visa-free regime, more permissive regulations and cultural affinity. Over time, the situation has changed: due to economic difficulties and growing anti-immigration sentiment, the Turkish authorities have tightened their policies. From 2022 onwards, they began issuing visas and residence permits more strictly and have also stepped up the fight against illegal employment.

Arslan Tokobaev, Kyrgyzstan’s consul in Istanbul, stated that “according to our data, around 4,700 Kyrgyz citizens were deported in 2024. The statistics for 2025 are still being compiled, but the figure is likely to be roughly the same. Due to the tightening of the laws, the number of residence permits issued has fallen dramatically”. As a result, thousands of people find themselves in the informal economy, without any legal protection.

“Those who work from home sometimes don’t leave the house for three or five years; some work round the clock without a break, and as they have no documents, they cannot protect themselves,” says Ryskul, a Kyrgyz activist in Turkey.

Ayžarkyn (name changed for security reasons) is the daughter of a Kyrgyz woman who lived and worked in Turkey for many years without documents: “My mother didn’t have a visa, so she was living here illegally. For seven years, she was unable to obtain a visa and return to Kyrgyzstan.” In 2023, the woman went missing, and Ayžarkyn was unable to contact her for a week: her phone was switched off. She then contacted the police, but no one bothered to gather further information; it was only later that one of the suspects admitted to having buried her body.

For undocumented women, working from home as carers, nannies, cooks or housekeepers is often the only option for survival, but at the same time a trap. Many are effectively locked up in their employers’ homes.

Women from Turkmenistan are particularly vulnerable: their country has tightened the rules on issuing passports, which can only be obtained within the country. Turkmenistan is in the midst of an economic crisis and, naturally, nobody wants to go back, “because here, regardless of psychological or physical abuse, they always have the hope of earning money and sending it to their families”, says Diana, a Turkmen activist in Turkey. Azattyk sent an enquiry to the Turkish Ministry of the Interior regarding the situation of female migrants from Central Asia, but no response has been received.