BISHKEK, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The number of Kyrgyzstan women committing extremist crimes has increased by 23 percent, according to information released here Wednesday.
Erlan Bakiyev with the Ministry of Internal Affairs said that most of those involved in extremist groups were between 25 and 35, adding that female recruitment was increasing in recent years.
"They, along with men are actively engaged in the promotion of radical ideas and create women's groups. If in 2005 the proportion of women in committing extremist crimes was 1.1 percent, by 2016 it has increased by 23 percent," he made the remarks while addressing a conference on counteracting religious extremism.
"In Kyrgyzstan, religious extremism is concentrated mainly in southern Osh, Jalal-Abad and Batken oblasts. These places make up the Kyrgyz part of the Ferghana Valley, the population is more religious here. However, lately, extremist groups are actively working to disseminate their ideas in the northern regions of the country too," he said.
According to recent reports, more than 500 Kyrgyzstan citizens took part in the wars in Syria and Iraq, among them over 100 were women.
