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RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHDF RUEHDH RUEHFL
RUEHGI RUEHIK RUEHJS RUEHKUK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP
RUEHPOD RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHTRO RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHNT #1948/01 3061111
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021110Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1471
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TASHKENT 001948 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KWMN KISL UZ
SUBJECT: THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN UZBEKISTAN: IS SECULARISM STRONGER 
THAN TRADITIONALISM? 
 
¶1.      (SBU)  SUMMARY:  Gender issues in Uzbekistan continue to be 
a complicated matter.  De jure, women in this secular, former 
Soviet society enjoy protections from discrimination, with 
relatively modern legislation and government policies pushing 
society towards greater gender equality.  De facto, other societal 
forces-including traditional roles of women-remain as barriers to 
achieving full equality.  There is also a significant urban-rural 
divide.  In general, both men and women have access to at least a 
basic education, but many men and women do not have access to 
quality health care-and women are particularly vulnerable because 
their families are often reluctant to pay for necessary care. 
Poverty and lack of access to resources (including information) 
leave many women vulnerable to exploitation, though new outreach 
efforts aim to change that by educating women about their rights. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
LEGISLATION AND GOVERNMENT POLICY 
 
 
 
¶2.      (SBU)  Uzbekistan inherited from Soviet days systemic 
equality in many areas: equal access to education, health care, and 
employment; high literacy rates; and equal social benefits.  Women, 
though certainly underrepresented, have held top leadership 
positions in business and politics for generations.  Since 
independence, the GOU has tried to expand upon that tradition, and 
as a matter of official policy has taken numerous steps to 
eliminate discrimination against women. In line with its 
obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of 
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the GOU reports that it has 
developed a series of national mechanisms to assist the observance 
of women's rights outlined in the Convention.  Its stated priority 
areas include the legal, economic, and social protection of 
motherhood and childhood; creating conditions for improving women's 
social and financial status; and promoting women's participation in 
all areas of public life. The Women's Committee of Uzbekistan, an 
organization with strong ties to the GOU, plays a significant role 
in the coordination and implementation of gender-related policies 
in Uzbekistan. 
 
 
 
TRADITIONAL ROLES OF WOMEN IN SOCIETY 
 
 
 
¶3.      (SBU)  The Uzbek national identity, while an ever-evolving 
notion, includes a strong emphasis on community and family.  In 
Soviet Uzbekistan, women were expected to enter the labor market as 
"equals," but pre-Soviet traditions continued to dictate that women 
bear the burden of raising children and maintaining the home. 
Thus, "modern" Soviet gender policies were actually resented by 
many Uzbek women.  (NOTE:  The Soviet system undeniably had many 
positive effects on the situation of the average Uzbek woman, and 
many contemporary Uzbek women view "traditional" Uzbek gender roles 
with contempt-but that view is far from monolithic.)  Since 
Uzbekistan's independence, some segments of society have advocated 
a return to the conservative pre-Soviet values that had faded from 
view but never really disappeared.  As in many societies, cultural 
traditions and religious traditions are so deeply intertwined in 
Uzbekistan that they seem virtually inseparable.  Islam enjoyed a 
major resurgence after the breakup of the Soviet Union; today, 
almost 90 percent of the population is Muslim.  Historically, 
Uzbeks practiced a fairly rigid form of Islam in which men and 
women were strictly segregated.  Women's lives revolved exclusively 
around their homes and their husbands; in public, they covered 
themselves completely.  (NOTE:  After the Soviet revolution, 
traditional Uzbek veils were forbidden.)  Therefore, the "Uzbek 
identity," according to most traditionalists, includes Uzbek women 
who are dutifully devoted to their role as wives and mothers. 
Though not a negative or culturally unique perspective, per se, 
this ideal is often accompanied by a host of negative assumptions 
that disadvantage women.  Today, women who enter the workforce 
still largely retain their responsibilities in the home, which 
results in difficult time constraints and a noticeable segregation 
of the sexes both socially and in the workforce-women often occupy 
lower-paid and lower-status positions.  The Asian Development Bank 
in 2005 reported that only four percent of executive positions in 
Uzbekistan were occupied by women. 
 
 
 
¶4.      (SBU)  Traditional beliefs have also hampered efforts at 
overcoming such problems as domestic violence, which often goes 
unreported.  Traditionally, women are expected to "suffer through" 
 
TASHKENT 00001948  002 OF 003 
 
 
abuse from their husbands; therefore, women who seek to leave 
abusive relationships have very little support, either from their 
families or from social structures.  Indeed, the influential 
"mahala" (neighborhood) committee system is reputed to be largely 
unsympathetic to the plight of women in these situations.  Divorce 
is frowned upon, particularly for women.  This is one area where 
the urban-rural divide makes little difference.  On the other hand, 
traditional notions of the honor and dignity of women can 
potentially have a positive effect.  For example, government and 
society have responded strongly to issues of human trafficking, 
particularly when it involves sexual exploitation of women. 
Anti-trafficking measures have included legislation, media 
campaigns, the establishment of telephone "hotlines," and the 
building of a rehabilitation center for victims, which is set to 
open soon. 
 
 
 
EDUCATION AND HEALTH CARE 
 
 
 
¶5.      (SBU)  Women in Uzbekistan generally have equal access to 
education.  Literacy indicators are strong for both men and women, 
and there is near-universal enrollment in primary school.  The 
number of women enrolling in universities is also on the rise, 
approaching parity with male students in legal and medical 
faculties, according to a CEDAW "shadow report" produced by local 
NGOs in conjunction with the official CEDAW report.  However, women 
and girls in rural areas tend to face more challenges in terms of 
access to education, particularly if their families are 
impoverished.  Anecdotal evidence indicates that some families 
facing economic difficulties choose not to send girls to secondary 
school.  There are several reasons for this: first of all, keeping 
girls home allows them to help with housework or child care.  In 
addition, even public schools often ask their students to make 
informal payments to support the school's functions or augment low 
staff salaries.  Some families balk at paying even small amounts to 
educate their daughters, in part because education is seen as 
unnecessary to fulfill their traditional roles as wives and 
mothers. 
 
 
 
¶6.      (SBU)  There is a strong history of equal access to health 
care, and no legal barriers exist to accessing the health care 
system.  Even in remote areas, there are usually childbirth centers 
that provide prenatal and postnatal medical care to women. 
However, the quality of available health care is another matter 
entirely, and those who can afford it seek care from private 
doctors and clinics.  Although (lower quality) health care is 
theoretically available for free, in practice, patients are often 
forced to bribe the staff of clinics and hospitals in order to 
receive care.  As with education, when a family faces economic 
hardships, the health care needs of mothers and daughters often are 
a low priority, and women and girls' health can suffer as a result. 
 
 
 
 
ACCESS TO INFORMATION 
 
 
 
¶7.      (SBU)  "Informational starvation" is also a problem for 
women in rural areas.  While most women in Tashkent have access to 
information from a variety of sources, including Internet and 
television programs, many women in small rural communities are 
extremely isolated and have almost no access to any type of media. 
Consequently, women in Tashkent tend to have a very modern outlook 
and usually know their legal rights, in stark contrast to rural 
areas, where lack of knowledge makes many women vulnerable to 
exploitation or abuse.  (NOTE:  Rural communities also tend to be 
more religiously devout.)  To combat this problem, the Women's 
Committee of Uzbekistan is working with the United Nations 
Development Project (UNDP) on a project called "Legislative and 
Institutional Capacity Development for Women's Empowerment in 
Uzbekistan."  To date, this project has conducted seminars on 
women's rights for doctors and secondary school teachers in rural 
areas, focusing on issues such as domestic violence and 
discriminative customs (e.g. forced and early marriages). 
 
 
 
COMMENT 
 
TASHKENT 00001948  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶8.      (SBU)  While women continue to face steep obstacles in 
Uzbekistan, the GOU is taking small but important steps to protect 
women's rights and promote equality.  Gender equality policies are 
a positive consequence of the GOU's strongly secular outlook aimed 
at preventing the emergence of more traditionally Islamic social 
and political values in the country.  De facto, however, Uzbekistan 
remains a strongly male-dominated society where traditional 
attitudes about gender persist.  END COMMENT. 
NORLAND