Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
75
https://eipublication.com/index.php/jsshrf
TYPE
Original Research
PAGE NO.
75-78
DOI
OPEN ACCESS
SUBMITED
24 December 2024
ACCEPTED
26 January 2025
PUBLISHED
28 February 2025
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue02 2025
COPYRIGHT
© 2025 Original content from this work may be used under the terms
of the creative commons attributes 4.0 License.
Coverage of Gender
Equality Issues in
Uzbekistan
Nurullayeva Durdona
Tashkent state university of oriental studies, Master degree student 1-
course, Uzbekistan
Abstract:
This article talks about the reforms aimed at
gender equality in the Republic of Uzbekistan and its
effect. In particular, the problems and needs of women
living in the country are studied and the decisions and
changes made in recent years to eliminate these
problems are discussed.
Keywords:
Gender
equality,
human
rights,
employment, family issues, education, Role of Women
in Society, United Nations Development Programme,
economic transformations, female judges.
Introduction:
In recent years, attention to women and
their rights has been increasing in our country. But if we
look at the years of independence, we can witness that
gender reforms were implemented in our country even
in those times. Since it gained independence in 1991,
the Republic of Uzbekistan has made gender equality a
fundamental democratic principle, enshrined in the
Constitution. The country has acceded to over 60
international human rights agreements and joined some
international organizations and covenants that promote
gender equality and protection of women’s rights.
Uzbekistan ratified the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in
1995. Since then, it has regularly endorsed and
implemented CEDAW national action plans. Gender
equality in Uzbekistan has seen both progress and
regression since independence in 1991. The principles
of nondiscrimination and equal rights for women and
men are enshrined in the Constitution. The Women’s
Committee of Uzbekistan (WCU) is the national
machinery for women’s issues and the key player in
promoting gender equality. Chaired by the deputy
prime minister, the WCU has a wide network of
branches in every administrative
–
territorial div
—
with
a mandatory position of a deputy head on women’
s
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issues. The latest decree of the President of February
2018 creates conditions for further encouraging the
activities of the WCU, and allows for more creative yet
systematic approaches to gender mainstreaming. For
urban women, the WCU identified the priority issues of
“employment, creation of new jobs, development of
business and entrepreneurship skills”
. For rural
women, the key issues are insufficient social and
municipal infrastructure, and the need for family- and
home-based business development. Since early 2017,
a Virtual Reception office, through which each citizen
can send inquiries directly to the government, have
been established in each administrative locality, to
facilitate citizens’ interactions with government. The
WCU performs regular assessments and addresses
women’s appeals to the Virtual Reception offices. The
main issues are requests for legal, social, and housing
assistance and financial aid, and questions and
proposals related to cultural behavior, dress codes,
weddings, and rituals.
If we look at the data of the last four years, large-scale
reforms aimed at achieving equal rights and
opportunities for women and men, ensuring their
equal participation in the management of society and
state affairs, social and legal support of women, and
protection of women from oppression and violence
have been implemented. The issue of gender equality
has been raised to the level of state policy, and 25
legislative documents have been adopted. A
republican commission on increasing the role of
women in society, gender equality and family issues, a
committee on women and gender equality issues was
established in the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the
Republic of Uzbekistan. For the first time in the history
of Uzbekistan, the number of women in the parliament
has
reached
a
level
consistent
with
the
recommendations set by the UN, the number of
women in the parliament has reached 32% and has
risen to the 37th place among 190 parliaments in the
world. The share of women in management positions
reached 27%, in parties 44%, in higher education 40%,
in entrepreneurship 35%. In order to provide social
and economic support to women and work with them,
the "Women's Register" system was introduced, and
300 billion soums were allocated annually from the
state budget. The system of covering the tuition fees
of needy girls who have lost their parents or one of
them, single women without a breadwinner was
introduced, and the number of grants for girls from
needy families for admission to higher education
institutions was doubled. In order to develop women's
entrepreneurship, preferential loans in the amount of
6.9 trillion soums were allocated to more than 224
thousand women. The reforms carried out in the field
have a positive effect on the place of our country in
international rankings. In the Women, Business and Law
Index of the World Bank, Uzbekistan was included in the
list of 27 countries that implemented significant reforms
in terms of women's rights and gender equality in 2020,
and rose by 5 places and took 134th place among 190
countries. Uzbekistan has always shown that it is
committed to the goals and principles of the UN Charter
and other universally recognized norms of international
law. At the UN General Assembly Summit on Sustainable
Development held in September 2015, Resolution No.
70 was adopted, and 125 target tasks and 206 indicators
were developed to achieve 16 national goals considered
urgent for our country. In particular, the 5th goal in the
field of sustainable development
—
Ensuring gender
equality and expanding the rights and opportunities of
all women is in sync with the reforms aimed at ensuring
equal rights and opportunities of women and men in our
country.
If we dwell more precisely on the numbers, the share of
women working in ministerial (equivalent to minister)
positions in the Ministry and State Committees was
7.7% as of April 1, 2024. The percentage of women
among judges was 14.0% in 2023 and 11.9% in 2018. In
addition, international meetings were organized in our
country on the expansion of the opportunities of
women in politics: the formation of leadership for
gender equality in Uzbekistan.
The Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of
Uzbekistan, in collaboration with the Republican
Commission for Increasing the Role of Women in
Society, Gender Equality, and Family Issues, the United
Nations Development Programme and with the financial
support of the UK government, commenced a five-day
training programme on 15 April 2024. The initiative aims
to enhance the leadership potential of female
representatives from various political parties. In recent
years, Uzbekistan has enacted over 50 laws aimed at
safeguarding the rights, freedoms, and legal interests of
women. Article 58 of the new version of the
Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan stipulates
equal rights of women and men, the state provides
equal rights and opportunities to women and men in the
management of society and state affairs, as well as in
other areas of society and state life. In particular, the
Law signed by the President of the Republic of
Uzbekistan on 18 December 2023 (LRU-883) stipulated
that the participation of women in the elections should
be at least 40 percent of the number of candidates for
deputy from a political party. Uzbekistan has always
demonstrated its commitment to the goals and
principles of the UN Charter and other universally
recognized norms of international law. Our country
ranked 45th among 190 national parliaments in the
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world ranking of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
"Women in Politics" published on 1 January 2023.
Uzbekistan entered the top 20 countries in the world
with a score of 69.7 in the open gender data index
published in September. According to the UN
Sustainable
Development
Solutions
Network
Uzbekistan improved by 8 positions ranking 69th
among 166 countries (in 2022, it was ranked 77th).
However, the problems related to women are not
limited to domestic violence, but also cause economic
difficulties. The most important of them is the high
level of unemployment among women in this country.
Sima Sami Bahous, the Deputy Secretary-General of
the United Nations and Executive Director of UN-
Women, praised Uzbekistan's commitment to gender
equality during her address at the opening of the Asian
Women's Forum on May 13. However, she highlighted
a startling reality: the unemployment rate among
women in Uzbekistan stands at a staggering 50%, while
among men it's 30%.
“Women in Uzbekistan earn on average 20% less than
men. They often work in insecure jobs, are not
protected by labor laws, and have no pension or health
insurance. 60% of women are employed in the
informal sector of the economy. In low-income
countries, this figure exceeds 90%. Every tenth woman
still lives in extreme poverty,” Bahous remarked
.
Looking ahead, Bahous highlighted the upcoming 30th
anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for
Action in 2025, urging nations to reaffirm their
commitment to gender equality during the 69th
session of the Commission on the Status of Women.
She emphasized the forthcoming global summit as an
opportunity to rebuild trust and forge a new
international consensus on securing a shared future,
with a specific focus on ensuring financial systems
work inclusively for women.
Closing the gender gap is critical to the success of
inclusive transformation of Uzbekistan: Uzbekistan's
national income would be about 29% higher if women
would participate in its creation on an equal basis with
men. If working women received wages on an equal
basis with men, then an increase in income would lift
more people out of poverty 700,000 people. What
prevents Uzbekistan from realizing such enormous
potential? In the present report highlights the
strengths and remaining barriers to greater equality in
within the framework of ongoing social and economic
transformations in Uzbekistan. Report brings together
the analytical work of the government, the World
Bank, development partners, academia and other
organizations. This paper proposes a set of priority
goals to reduce the gap between Uzbekistan's current
performance and its potential for more inclusive
prosperity. Despite achieving gender parity in some
areas, harmful gender norms contribute to extreme
inequality of economic opportunity between men and
women. Due to differences in employment and wages
in 2017, gross national income (GNI) per capita per
woman was more than 45% lower GNI per man.1 This
trend has also worsened in recent years. Women's
participation in workforce has fallen from 50% in 2010
to 45% in 2021, according to the International labor
organization (ILO). Proportion of young men who did
not work or receive education or vocational training
(NEET), was 8.8% of those aged 15 to 25 years compared
with 42% among women in this age group .
Entrepreneurial
activity
demonstrates
similar
imbalance: the share of men with access to loans for
business or farming, more than twice the share of
women according to data state statistics portal. Low
labor force participation rate, lower wages and
occupational segregation together have led to
significant gender pay gap. According to government
statistics, women in 2022 on average earned 34% less
than men, which is much more than the global average
the rate is 20%.
In addition, the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on
Protection of Women from Harassment and Violence in
our country was adopted on August 17, 2019 and
approved by the Senate on August 23, 2019. It is worth
noting that the Center for Rehabilitation and Adaptation
of Women and Girls in the republic planned to establish
a temporary shelter for women and girls who were
subjected to pressure and violence as part of its regional
centers.
The president has signed the decree "On Additional
Measures to Improve Social Services for Persons
Affected by Pressure and Violence." The document
institutes a comprehensive system of social services
based on the principle of "family
–
community
–
district
and region" for those affected by pressure and violence.
Starting from June 1, 2024:
- The "Inson" social service centers will provide social
and legal services to women and girls who have
experienced or are at risk of violence without the need
for a protection order;
- Incidents of pressure and violence against women and
girls are registered by law enforcement based on calls
received at the 102 emergency numbers of the internal
affairs departments. Within 24 hours of identifying an
incident or risk of violence, the following actions will be
undertaken: - A conversation with the perpetrator is
conducted in the presence of a women's activist and the
neighborhood prevention inspector;
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- A protection order is issued by the prevention
inspector;
- Women and girls affected by violence and their minor
children are placed in the emergency departments of
central district (city) hospitals;
- Information on issued protection orders and affected
individuals is sent in real-time to the "Inson" centers
via the "Unified National Social Protection"
information system.
Temporary shelters will be put into operation at the
regional centers of the Republican Center for the
Rehabilitation and Adaptation of Women to provide
rehabilitation services to women and girls who have
suffered from pressure and violence. As part of this
process, 14 exemplary inter-district centers under the
regional centers will be dissolved, transferring their
staff units and material-technical bases completely to
the regional centers.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it should be said that opportunities for
women in our country are being formed and
developed step by step by international organizations.
Measures to increase the share of women in the labor
market, reduce poverty in the country, and prevent
unemployment should not remain on paper in the
form of a poor concept. Improving the conditions of
women living in remote areas, attracting them to
quality education and interesting educational
programs of international organizations should be the
main goal of today's reforms.
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