Aida Kasymalieva, Kyrgyzstan's youngest female member of parliament, was stunned when her male colleagues walked out as she spoke at a session on women's issues in a nation rife with domestic violence, child marriage and bride kidnappings.
Kasymalieva knew these issues weren't a priority in the Kyrgyz parliament having reported as a journalist for over 10 years on women migrants, child marriage and the often brutal abduction of young women who are then forced into marriage.
But Kasymalieva, 33, was surprised by the total disregard for issues impacting women in the majority Muslim country in central Asia bordering China that is home to about six million people.
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