Fariza Fazyl, a student at the Nazarbayev Intellectual School in Astana, was named one of the top 10 winners in the international Open Letter Contest organized by The New York Times, reports “Adyrna” national portal, citing Radio Azattyq.
Fariza submitted an essay about the Kazakh tradition of naming girls, specifically addressing names like Ultugan (meaning “a girl born in place of a hoped-for boy”). In her piece, she wrote a heartfelt letter to girls with such names, exploring the social and psychological implications of being born into families who had wished for a son.
“They named you that. That’s what they hoped for when they first held you. Not you. Someone else. And yet, you remained. You learned to carry, in silence and with kindness, the burden of their disappointment…” wrote the young author.
In an interview published on the Batyrjamal Instagram page, Fariza said that her choice of topic was influenced by her family, history, and prevalent gender perceptions in society.
“I heard that the grandmother of Baurzhan Momyshuly was named Kyztumass (meaning ‘may no more girls be born’). These kinds of names reflect a family’s hope for a boy. If I had a name like that, I would want to change it. That made me think — and inspired this essay,” she said.
