Kazakhstani MPs and the public are uncovering new details about the funding of LGBT initiatives in the country by international organisations.
Since February 2025, information has been emerging about funds directed to support the LGBT movement through various foreign bodies, including the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, ILGA-Europe, the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia, and other organisations.
Details have entered the public domain about 160 million tenge received by LGBT activists through international funds. As reported by CMN.KZ, co-founder of the feminist initiative 'Feminita' Zhanar Sekerbayeva denied cooperation with USAID, however documents seen by the editorial team suggest otherwise.
According to available information, in August 2024, an international platform for LGBT communities of Central Asia was held in Almaty under strict confidentiality.
The event was organised as part of a USAID project 'Strengthening Human Rights and Equality in Central Asia', implemented through the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Association (ILGA). As journalists note, the meeting began with a speech by the head of the USAID mission, Luis Rivera, who highlighted problems with the recognition of LGBT people in Kazakhstan.
According to CMN.KZ, Rivera spoke negatively about the country's policy regarding respect for the rights of LGBT individuals.
"There is a decision to accept a petition for the partial ban of LGBT issues, which was adopted by the Ministry of Information. This indicates certain problems. The adoption of such a repressive decision is, of course, not welcome and, in general, reflects society's attitude towards the ideas of LGBT people in the country," the publication quotes him as saying.
The foreign official also expressed the opinion that the existence of LGBT people is becoming a normal phenomenon for local society and called for joint action to promote this ideology:
"The coordinated work of LGBT activist groups with international organisations and the civil sector will make it possible to create a society in Kazakhstan that embraces diversity."
Two months before the aforementioned events, the head of the human rights public association Phoenix, Balzhan Abdullayeva, and the head of communications at the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Kazakhstan, Zhibek Toktash, contacted Zhanar Sekerbayeva by email. The letter contained a proposal to implement a project with a corresponding budget and terms of reference.
According to the documents, the project was supposed to demonstrate "the oppression of Kazakhstani women by Soviet and Russian authorities". The activists were tasked with creating a multilingual online map to "show each of us the connection to the land and space through which they found their identity". The project also provided for a discussion on the appropriation of urban public space "belonging only to women" and the transformation of feminist experience.
Initially, the parties agreed on a sum of 5,170,000 tenge, then a service agreement was concluded for 4,369,000 tenge. An invoice was issued to another leader of the feminist movement, Gulzada Serzhan, for the amount of 3,058,300 tenge. More details about the document can be found in the CMN.KZ article.
After US President Donald Trump, in his address to Congress on 5 March, criticised USAID's investments in LGBT-related initiatives in various countries, concerns arose at the German embassy in Kazakhstan regarding the cessation of support for 'gender diversity' and an information campaign against LGBT people.
On 17 February 2025, the cultural attaché at the German embassy, Mr. Sasse, sent a letter to the head of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation's Kazakhstan office, Alexander Franz Wolters, demanding clarification of its cooperation with LGBT structures to avoid undermining the German side's image, media report.
Further developments will depend on the detailed analysis initiated by MPs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which may shed light on the mechanisms for financing LGBT initiatives from the USA and European Union countries.