Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09TASHKENT1948
2009-11-02 11:10:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tashkent
Cable title:  

THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN UZBEKISTAN: IS SECULARISM STRONGER

Tags:  PGOV KWMN KISL UZ 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO6060
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?

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