Tolekan Ismailova

Tolekan Asanalievna Ismailova (Kyrgyz: Төлөкан Асаналиевна Исмаилова; born 17 June 1954) is a Kyrgyz human rights defender and director of Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan (formerly known as Citizens Against Corruption) since May 2000, the Executive Secretary of the Kyrgyzstan NGOs Forum and founding president of Kyrgyzstan's Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society.

Early life Ismailova was born in the Northern Tien Shan Mountains in Eastern Kyrgyzstan. Her father was a Kyrgyz language and literature teacher and a World War II Veteran. Ismailova holds a degree in foreign languages from the Kyrgyz National University.

Career As founder and President of the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society, Ismailova played a role in uniting the NGO sector of Kyrgyzstan. After the screening, Ismailova and her family were labeled as “extremists and promoters of inter-ethnic and inter-religious conflicts” by the central intelligence agencies.