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THE ROLE OF UZBEKISTAN'S WOMEN IN SOCIAL AND CULTURAL SPHERES
DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR
Mutabar Mamarajabovna Urolova
State Museum of the History of Uzbekistan
Research Fellow
E-mail:
Annotation:
This article describes the role of women in Uzbekistan in the fields of charity,
education, science, and culture, as well as their contributions to the development and activities of
various sectors. In addition to delivering essential supplies to the front, Uzbekistan's women
adopted and raised many children of different nationalities during the evacuation, showing
parental love. In the victory over fascism, they demonstrated not only at the front but also in the
rear an example of pride, invaluable worth, and great courage characteristic of the Uzbek people.
Key words:
War, Charity, Science, Education, Culture, Personnel, Evacuation, Courage, Victory,
Memory.
The Second World War claimed the lives of many people around the world. The social factors of
the war had a complex impact on every family's life, disrupting the economy. As a result, the
political and socio-economic situation became tense. The people of Uzbekistan were mobilized
for the front. Along with men, many women from Uzbekistan also departed for the front lines.
The situation behind the front lines also worsened, with all complex tasks falling on women's
shoulders. During these trying times, Uzbek women emerged as resolute, strong-willed
individuals before the whole world, exemplifying the phenomenon of the "Uzbek woman." They
not only took leadership roles in agriculture, industry, and factories but also made significant
contributions to the development of education, science, and culture. The education, science, and
culture systems required improvement. Indeed, women's intelligence and sense of responsibility
became a driving force in changing these situations for the better.
As the President of Uzbekistan Sh. Mirziyoyev emphasized, "Our people worked selflessly
behind the front lines, delivering vast amounts of military equipment, weapons, medicines,
clothing, and food products to the battlefields. During those extremely difficult and challenging
years, our people demonstrated humanity and tolerance," - "in those hard times, when even a
morsel of bread was scarce, Uzbekistan provided shelter and sustenance to thousands of families
left homeless due to the war, and cared for countless orphans and widows" [1, - P.80-81].
Indeed, during the Second World War, socio-economic life, science, education, and culture were
adapted to the military situation. Addressing personnel-related issues became urgent. Women in
Uzbekistan worked hard to supply the front and contribute to the victory in the war. They
became specialists in unfamiliar professions. In a critical situation where the fate of thousands of
people was at risk, all efforts were focused on evacuation processes. The government organized
appeals, held rallies, and made decisions.
According to the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the Uzbek SSR and the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan [2, - P. 5], evacuees were accepted as
relatives into the families of collective farmers, urban and rural workers [3, -P. 14]. As of
September 1, 1941, 5,717 people had arrived in the republic from the Ukrainian SSR alone,
while in October-November their number reached 54,029. In total, about 1 million people arrived
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in Uzbekistan, of which 200 thousand were children [4, - P. 58]. As the resettlement process to
Uzbekistan was carried out, necessary measures were taken to accommodate the evacuated
children and provide them with free meals.
In October 1941, by the decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of
Uzbekistan (Bolsheviks) and the Council of People's Commissars of the Uzbek SSR, the Central
Evacuation Center of the People's Commissariat of Education was established. Republican,
regional, city, and district commissions were created to assist evacuated children, providing them
with opportunities for free meals in children's canteens organized in the cities of Tashkent,
Fergana, Kokand, Andijan, Samarkand, and Namangan [5, - pp. 115-116]. As the movement to
provide comprehensive assistance to evacuated children continued, the trade union commission
of the Uzbek SSR held women's meetings in the regions, where 178 educators expressed their
desire to educate and care for the children of fallen soldiers.
This demonstrated the high level of humanitarianism of our people during the evacuation process
and greatly inspired many individuals both in the rear and at the front. Uzbek families began to
adopt many orphaned children. For example, Hamid Samadov, a disabled World War II veteran
from Samarkand, and the Shomahmudov family, blacksmiths from Tashkent, took 14 children of
various nationalities into their care, nurturing and cherishing them as they grew up.
A monument featuring a sculptural composition depicting Temirchi Shomahmudov, who
demonstrated the tolerance of the Uzbek people and exemplified high patriotism and honor,
along with his wife and children, has been erected in the central part of the Palace of Friendship
of Peoples in Tashkent. This monument of great courage has been immortalized in bronze and
granite.
Additionally, the family of Hamid Samatov from Kattakurgan, a participant in the battles near
Stalingrad, Belarus, and Moscow, cared for 13 children, while the family of Muazzam and
Sharafa Djurayev from Bukhara, and Bahrikhon aya Ashurkhojayeva nurtured 8 children [4, -
P.58-59; - P. 42].
The People's Commissariat of Education of the republic and its employees, along with the
women's departments of the Tashkent City Party Committee [2, -P. 15], were actively involved
in carrying out such crucial tasks as accepting children, placing them in orphanages and
communities, providing individual care, education, sending them to work, finding and registering
wandering, underage, and neglected children, and their planned placement. Moreover, the task
of delivering children to households and specific destinations was honorably carried out by kind,
caring community women. With the assistance of female community members, children
underwent medical examinations, were bathed, dressed in clean clothes, and fed [2, -P. 6-7].
In 1942, at an anti-fascist rally in Tashkent, Bahri khola, an Uzbek woman who deeply felt
humanitarian values, spoke and said: "We don't have orphaned children here; in my family,
Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, and a Tatar girl are being raised and studying at school. [2, -P.
9-12] With the intention of helping the front to quickly defeat the enemy, Uzbek women raised
children of various nationalities with affection and instilled in them a sense of worthy patriotism.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan, by its resolution of January 3,
1943, approved the appeal of Tashkent women to Uzbek women regarding the care and
upbringing of evacuated children [6, -P. 12]. To strengthen work among women, in May 1943,
the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan (Bolsheviks) established an
organization for political work with families of frontline soldiers, alongside efforts to improve
social welfare [7, -P. 18]. Uzbekistan made significant efforts to receive nearly 1 million Soviet
citizens from territories occupied by German fascist invaders, providing them with housing,
employment, and food. Over 200,000 children were warmly welcomed, and tens of thousands of
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children were saved from the brink of death. They were assigned to work and study in various
sectors of the national economy or reunited with their parents and relatives.
Committees and commissions were formed, involving the city's wider community, to organize
the reception and accommodation of evacuated children. They established patronage over
children's rooms and dormitories in schools across the districts[8, -P. 314]. Work related to
evacuation was organized under constant supervision. In this regard, specially created
committees for assisting street children under the city council and in all districts, as well as the
city commission for assisting evacuated children, established active oversight. The committees
and commission took care of improving the children's health and their dietary standards. They
organized canteens for children. From 1941, the republic's administration was focused on the war
effort, and there was a need to implement measures to intensify production, improve charitable
work, secure supplies and funds, and allocate them appropriately. It is known that during the war
years, the Uzbek people and members of all organizations carried out charitable work[5, -P. 152].
The generous Uzbek people, of their own volition, began to hand over money, jewelry, and
valuable items, considered their personal assets, to the government for the defense fund. In the
selfless generosity of the Uzbek people, one could see a passionate heart and high tolerance.
Nationwide initiatives, rallies, meetings, and proposals were announced to and supported by the
people and representatives of various sectors.
The Second World War was a time of trial for the public education system, higher education
system, and research institutes. Firstly, the conscription of education sector representatives,
professors, and teachers into the war, the decline of the education system, and the reduction of
budget funds, and secondly, the placement of evacuated children in kindergartens and schools,
along with problems related to education and upbringing, awaited their solution. First and
foremost, there was a need for educators to prevent orphaned children from being left unattended.
The majority of those evacuated were children and adolescents. Accepting all children,
regulating their placement, and creating the necessary conditions for their education required the
painstaking work of the republic's party, Soviet, Komsomol, and trade union organizations,
public education bodies, and the entire public.
Women also demonstrated resilience in establishing kindergartens, nurseries, and playgrounds in
various sectors of the national economy, construction sites, large defense enterprises, and
collective and state farms. By 1941-43, day and night groups were organized in kindergartens
and nurseries, and children began to receive care and education [10, -P. 164].
During this period, from 1940 to 1942, many school buildings were repurposed for evacuated
enterprises and hospitals to support public education efforts. The inadequate implementation of
educational laws, incomplete participation of students in the educational process, and parents'
involvement of their children in labor activities led to a decline in the quality of education. As a
result, the departure of numerous public education workers to the front lines, coupled with the
expansion of schools and preschool educational institutions, necessitated an increase in teacher
training. The conscription of young adults and a portion of the population into the army during
the ongoing war, as well as the involvement of many women, elderly individuals, and
adolescents in production, social, and defense work, further heightened the responsibility of
schools and public education bodies in educating and nurturing the younger generation.
As women's participation in the development of higher and secondary specialized education in
the republic gradually became noticeable, they took part in scientific and practical processes,
conducted research in various fields of science, and made a great contribution to increasing the
potential of society. During the war years, together with the evacuated educational institutions,
higher educational institutions trained more than 10,000 specialists, while technical schools
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trained about 3,700. Women, who constituted an important part of the teaching staff of higher
and secondary educational institutions, played a significant role in the training and education of
students. They worked as initiators and organizers of such important tasks as educating young
people, achieving the fulfillment of educational plans, and nurturing future personnel in the spirit
of discipline and patriotism. It is known that the first days of the war demanded great
perseverance, courage, and hard work from cultural and art workers. Like soldiers, volunteers,
and women, artists, poets, and writers made worthy contributions both at the front and in the rear.
From the very beginning, the works of Uzbek writers and composers mobilized the masses to
fight against fascism and engage in selfless work. [10, -P. 191].
Uzbek poets, having acted with a deep understanding of the essence of the war, made significant
contributions. Poets such as Gafur Gulom, Hamid Olimjon, Uygun, Mirtemir, Zulfiya, Temir
Fattoh, Chustiy, Sobir Abdulla, Oybek, Shayxzoda, Hamid Gulom, Abdulla Qahhor, Zafar Diyor,
Turob Tula, and many other young poets embarked on creative work, writing poems to elevate
the morale of soldiers [11, - P.2].
Films depicting the painful experiences of World War II in
Uzbek cinema have been affecting everyone equally, regardless of religion, nationality, or
gender. The tolerance and high human qualities that have existed in our people for centuries are
also reflected in these films.
Uzbek women, who fought heroically at the front and worked selflessly behind the lines, played
a crucial role in the Soviets' historic victory in World War II. The Uzbek woman emerged before
the whole world as a resolute, strong-willed patriot, a person who called soldiers to arms and
great trials.
The children raised by patriotic women were of different nationalities. They shared both joy and
sorrow together. These women washed and cleaned them, provided good upbringing and
education. The adopted children grew up to obtain higher education, secondary education, and
various professions. Families provided maternal love and upbringing. They offered housing and
shelter. They shared their bread. They taught them professions and cared for their health. They
were taught professions.
During the war, women's labor acquired special significance in all spheres. The participation of
women in the food, oil, cotton ginning, and textile industries increased to unprecedented levels.
Patriotic women devoted all their strength to serving the Motherland and achieving victory.
The feelings and thoughts of the women of Uzbekistan were expressed at numerous rallies and
meetings, where they unanimously declared their readiness and determination to defend the
Motherland, strengthen the country's defense, actively participate in public production, achieve
constant growth in labor productivity, and increase revolutionary vigilance.
During the challenging wartime conditions, the issue of providing industry with labor was
resolved through the systematic implementation of various special administrative measures and
the adoption of several legislative acts. The workforce was redistributed among different
branches of the republic's national economy in favor of the defense industry. Laws were enacted
to establish a new labor regime, which significantly reduced staff turnover. Strict penalties were
introduced for dismissal and unauthorized departure from enterprises, and enterprise managers
were permitted to implement mandatory working hours in industry.
Women of Uzbekistan played a crucial role in addressing the shortage of workers across all
sectors. Thousands of women eagerly joined factories, plants, and construction sites,
demonstrating heroic labor and successfully mastering various complex professions, some of
which required considerable physical strength. The high patriotism of the Uzbek people enabled
timely resolution of the personnel problem through organized redistribution among production
sectors, improved training through the labor reserve system, and widespread involvement of the
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working-age population, especially women, in production. Women of Uzbekistan made a
significant contribution to industrial development.
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