Deputy calls for another language to be legally recognized in Kazakhstan

Tengrinews.kz – Mazhilis deputy Yekaterina Smolyakova proposed legally recognizing sign language in Kazakhstan as a full-fledged language of communication. She sent the corresponding request to the Prime Minister of the republic.
According to Smolyakova, law enforcement agencies receive more than 45,000 complaints every year related to violations of the rights of citizens with disabilities.

“This is not just statistics. It is the voice of people who remain on the margins of society,” she said.

The deputy noted that more than 30,000 people with hearing and speech impairments currently live in Kazakhstan, about 5,000 of them children. For them, sign language is not just a means of communication, but a connection to the outside world.

“But the paradox is that in Kazakhstan, sign language has still not been recognized at the legislative level,” Yekaterina Smolyakova said.

Because of this, thousands of citizens do not have full access to information, education, work, public services and public life, the deputy said.
Smolyakova also drew attention to the shortage of sign language specialists. According to her, there are only 221 teachers of the deaf in Kazakhstan, while such specialists are trained by only four universities. At present, only 35 students are studying in this specialty.
The deputy separately raised the issue of the limit on sign language interpretation services. Today, citizens with hearing impairments are provided with only 60 hours of sign language interpretation per year.

“This is not enough even for everyday life. There are visits to the hospital, receiving public services, studying, working and participating in public life. Yet we limit it to 60 hours a year,” she noted.

Deputy Smolyakova asked the government to legally recognize sign language as a full-fledged language of communication, guarantee its use in education, medicine, courts, public services and the media, review the limit on sign language interpretation services, increase the amount of content with sign language interpretation and subtitles, and expand the training of teachers of the deaf.

“Giving equal opportunities to citizens with hearing impairments is not charity. It is a sign of a just state. Not everyone can speak with their voice. But every person has the right to be heard,” the parliamentarian concluded.

Context
Earlier, we reported that many Kazakhstanis with hearing impairments face the inaccessibility of ordinary urban and cultural environments, including cinemas, public services and digital platforms. The problem of inclusion is not limited to benefits alone: it concerns the right to education, work, mobility and full participation in public life.