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by | Mar 14, 2018 | Oenothera

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The social and legal situation of women in Uzbekistan has been influenced by local traditions, religion, the earlier Soviet regime and changing social norms since independence.[3]

Maternal healthcare and availability of contraceptives

The availability of contraceptives and maternal healthcare is mixed. 62.3% of women were using free contraceptives in 2003.[4][5] However, the UN estimates that about 13.7% of women in Uzbekistan who would like to prevent, or delay, their next pregnancy are unable to do so because of limited access to contraceptives.[6] In 2000, there were approximately 20,900 midwives in the country.[7]

Forced sterilization

Main article: Compulsory sterilization in Uzbekistan

There are reports that forced sterilization of women is practiced in Uzbekistan.[8][9][10] A BBC World Service "Assignment" report on 12 April 2012 uncovered evidence that women are being sterilised, often without their knowledge, in an effort by the government to control the population.[11]

Suicide

Self-immolation is a common form of suicide among women in Uzbekistan.[12] In 2001 it was estimated that approximately 500 women a year kill themselves because of abusive situations.[13]

Trafficking

The UN has recognized some efforts of the government to curtail human trafficking.[14] For example, telephone hotlines are available for trafficking victims,[15] and trafficking carries a jail sentence of five to eight years.[4][5]

However, trafficking still persists, as Uzbekistan is both a supplier and consumer of trafficked women.[16][5]”Trafficking occurs as an extension of the ‘shuttle’ trade. The women are sent as tourists with promises of employment as nannies, tutors or baby-sitters, but they often end up working in the sex industry.”[13]

Women’s economic opportunities

"Gender roles in the economy changed during the Soviet period and continue to change in independence."[17] While the Uzbek state has programs in place to help increase economic opportunities for women, there are persistent problems. For example, the labor market is sex-segregated, and women are usually paid lower wages.[18] "Unskilled personnel in the non-production sector are comprised virtually entirely of women.”[4][5] Women also cannot be used for night time or overtime work.[4] In 2023 the Uzbek Government passed a law offering some protections against harassment and abuse.[19]

Mothers with disabled children or many children can retire at 50, which is up to five years earlier than the stipulated retirement age (55).[4]

As of 2004 Uzbekistan’s election law requires political parties to nominate at least 30 percent female candidates for the parliament. However, the underrepresentation of women is endemic at all levels of government.[5]

Uzbekistan has universal suffrage;[4] however, "according to data from surveys conducted by the Public Opinion Centre, 64% of urban and 50% of rural women consider that men have greater opportunities for implementing their rights in the political sphere".[4]

Forced marriage and bride kidnapping

Forced marriage through bride kidnapping occurs in parts of the country, especially Karakalpakstan. [20] Bride kidnappings are believed to be tied to economic instability. Whereas weddings can be prohibitively expensive, kidnappings avoid both the cost of the ceremony and any bride price.[21] Some scholars report that less desirable males with inferior educations or drug or alcohol problems are more likely to kidnap their brides.[22]

References

  1. ^ "Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) - Data". data.worldbank.org.
  2. ^ "Human Development Report 2021/2022" (PDF). HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORTS. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Domestic Violence in Uzbekistan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-21.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women". Un.org. Retrieved 2015-05-22.
  5. ^ a b c d e "The United Nations Human Rights Treaties". Bayefsky.com. Retrieved 2015-05-22.
  6. ^ "United Nations Statistics Division". Unstats.un.org. Retrieved 2015-05-22.
  7. ^ "Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights". Archived from the original on 2011-05-21.
  8. ^ "BBC News - Uzbekistan's policy of secretly sterilising women". BBC News. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  9. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Crossing Continents, Forced Sterilisation in Uzbekistan". BBC. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  10. ^ "Birth Control by Decree in Uzbekistan". Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  11. ^ "BBC World Service - Assignment , Forcible Sterilisation In Uzbekistan". BBC. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  12. ^ "Institute for War and Peace Reporting | Giving Voice, Driving Change". Iwpr.net. Retrieved 2015-05-22.
  13. ^ a b "IWRAW Home Page". Iwraw.igc.org. Retrieved 2015-05-22.
  14. ^ UN, CEDAW: (Concluding Observations, 2006) 5
  15. ^ UNFPA, State of the World Population 2006:( A Passage to Hope; Women and International Migration, 2006) 49
  16. ^ "International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights". Archived from the original on 2011-04-30.
  17. ^ Uzbeks. (2003). In C. R. Ember, & M. Ember (Eds.), Encyclopedia of sex and gender: men and women in the world's cultures. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer Science+Business Media.
  18. ^ CEDAW: Concluding Observations, 2006, Uzbekistan
  19. ^ https://lex.uz/docs/5147718
  20. ^ Alena Aminova, "Uzbekistan: No Love Lost in Karakalpak Bride Thefts", Institute of War and Peace Reporting, 14 June 2004
  21. ^ See Aminova; Jamila Sujud and Rashid Musayev, "Bride Kidnapping Returns in Central Asia, Central Asia Online, 18 January 2010
  22. ^ Jamila Sujud and Rashid Musayev, "Bride Kidnapping Returns in Central Asia", Central Asia Online, 18 January 2010
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