AKIPRESS.COM - Kyrgyzstan marks the Ak Kalpak Day on March 5.

This unofficial holiday started being marked in Kyrgyzstan since 2011 at the initiative of filmmaker Yrysbek Jabirov.

On this day, various events dedicated to the ak kalpak take place in Bishkek and regions. The ak kalpak hats are often presented to honorable guests.

Many Kyrgyz males wear this hat on this day in solidarity with the holiday.

Today, multiple lawmakers wore kalpaks to the meeting of the parliament's standing committee for international affairs, defense and security. Deputy Interior Minister Kursan Asanov was wearing kalpak, too.

In late February, the parliament passed the first reading of draft amendments proposing to assign the status of a cultural symbol to the ak kalpak. The bill makes the ak kalpak an official symbol and makes it compulsory for the president, the prime minister, and members of the cabinet and parliament to wear the hat during foreign visits and official events. If passed in three readings and signed into law by the president, the bill will find disrespecting the kalpak illegal and offenders will face up to 5,000 soms fines.