On a winter’s day in 2022, Mediyana Talantbekova failed to turn up for an exam. Two years later, her family and friends grapple with the events that led to her death. This article is a collaboration between Kyrgyzstan-based media outlet Kloop and Al Jazeera and is based on reporting conducted between 2022 and 2024.
Osh, Kyrgyzstan – When Mediyana Talantbekova was about 10 years old, she would watch over her family’s calves. One day, one of them went to graze in a field of clover, a plant that can cause deadly bloating, and died. Mediyana, who lived with her family in Osh, a city in southwestern Kyrgyzstan, was distressed by the calf’s death and felt she was to blame.
When her father, Talantbek Ergeshov, a farmer, returned home that evening he found her sitting quietly in a corner of the house. “What’s wrong, my daughter? You seem upset,” he recalled asking her. Mediyana started crying.
“Dad, I killed a calf,” she told him. Talantbek comforted his daughter. “Aw my girl, don’t cry, it’s not such a problem,” he told her.
He helped her understand that the calf’s death was not her fault and, to cheer her up, he told her he would take her to the bazaar the following morning to buy a pair of earrings. That night, Mediyana got out of bed and went to wake her father. “Daddy, the sun is not rising,” she told him, impatient for the day to begin.
When morning came, Talantbek took his daughter to the gold bazaar to get her ears pierced. He then bought her a.
