• last year
Kyzzhibek Batyrkanova (@batyrkanchik) leads a team of women who aim to launch Kyrgyzstan’s 1st ever satellite.

As the program director at the Kyrgyz Satellite Program she built a team of unstoppable women who will make history. They learn the basics of engineering and apply those skills to build a nano-satellite that can collect and analyze data from outer space. . Once they reach the final goal of securing a launch service provider, the satellite will be transported to the International Space Station and launched into orbit.

In a country where young women face rigid gender stereotypes and even kidnapping that forces them to become wives, the women at Kyrgyz Satellite Program are pioneering a new space for girls in STEM.

Producers
Joy Jihyun Jeong
Didem Tali

Director of Photography
Didem Tali

Editor
Ruolin Luyo

Assistant Editor
Haruka Motohashi

Managing Editor
Keshia Hannam

Senior Producer
Stephanie Tangkilisan

Post Supervisor
Syarifah Sa'diyah

Original Music By
Fabian Mazur

Color
Haruka Motohashi

Sound
Ernesto Suarez

Special Thanks
Kyzzhibek Batyrkanova
Kyrgyz Space Program

Original Theme Song & Music by
Fabian Mazur

Additional Archival Material
Kyrgyz Space Program
NASA

Category

🗞
News
Transcript
00:00 I was born in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
00:03 Fortunately, my parents were pretty progressive,
00:06 and they told me to study.
00:08 I excelled at mathematics and physics at school,
00:12 but the society was constantly telling me
00:14 that men are better at technologies.
00:18 And I understand that many girls in my country,
00:21 specifically in rural areas, have to face it every day.
00:25 Everyone telling that you have to get married,
00:28 a good wife, a good mother.
00:31 And this is what really bothers me,
00:34 because I really want every girl and woman to believe
00:39 that your happiness is not determined by your family,
00:43 by your children, or your husband.
00:46 I think when you're doing something new in a country,
00:51 and you're a pioneer, it is always hard.
00:55 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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