"Women in Kazakhstan are not only oppressed in the family, but also by the system"

"Have you ever seen Friends? This place was like Central Perk for me and Salta," Aitbek Amangeldi explains why he chose this particular bistro in Kazakhstan's capital Astana for our conversation. "This year, I didn't really feel like celebrating my birthday. So I just came here and ordered two glasses of wine, one for me and one for Salta."

But his younger sister could not be there this time. On November 9, 2023, Saltanat Nukenova, 31, was brutally murdered by her husband...