Role and Rights of Women in Sustainable Development of Uzbekistan

Our country has adopted and is implementing many legislative and regulatory legal acts manage issues of gender equality and increasing the role of women in the social and economic life of population. There are many women in Uzbekistan who have high potential and a desire to develop. Despite the difficulties, they achieve great results, build their careers, engage in sports, open their own businesses, and create new jobs for the population.

In recent years, Uzbekistan has adopted a number of laws aimed at ensuring gender equality. In particular:

- Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Guarantees of Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men" dated 02.09.2019 LRU-№562;

- Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On the Protection of Women from Harassment and Violence" of 02.09.2019 LRU-№561; 

- Amendments and additions were made to the Family Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan. 

Resolution №297-IV of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of 28 May 2021 approved the Strategy for Gender Equality in Uzbekistan, which provides for a comprehensive approach to the introduction of the principle of equality between women and men in all spheres and levels until 2030. Presidential Decree PD-№87 of 07.03.2022 adopted the National Programme for Increasing Women's Activism in All Spheres of Economic, Political and Social Life for 2022-2026. The Commission on Gender Equality of the Republic of Uzbekistan was established in accordance with Presidential Decision PD-№4235 of 7 March 2019 «On measures to further strengthen guarantees of women's labour rights and support for women's entrepreneurial activities». The Commission is headed by the Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis.

Within the framework of the approved resolutions, decrees and other legal documents, important measures are being taken in the Republic to create equal rights and opportunities for women and men, strengthen the role of women in State and public administration, create the necessary conditions for their education and vocational training, ensure employment, create decent working conditions, and increase women's activity in economic life and protection from various kinds of harassment and violence.

The policy of supporting women in public power has resulted in an increase in the proportion of women in various positions, in particular:

- in the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, the proportion of women deputies increased from 12.6 % in 2018 to 32 % in 2022, and in the Senate of the Oliy Majlis from 20.0 % to 25.0 % over the analysed period;

- the share of women in leadership positions increased from 27.0% to 28.2% over the analysed period.

According to the Statistics Agency under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, there have been a number of positive changes in the socio-economic and public spheres of the country in 2018-2022.

In education, science and community life:

- the level of higher education among women aged 25 and older increased from 12.7 % in 2018 to 13.8 % in 2022 (based on the results of a sample survey of households by relevant population groups);

- Among women in the country, by the beginning of 2023, there were 5 academicians, more than 700 doctors of science and about 3 thousand candidates of science in higher educational institutions alone; many women have been awarded honorary titles.

- Seventeen women have been awarded the highest State honour, the title of Hero of Uzbekistan, for their great contribution to the motherland and the people.

 Family and reproductive health:

- The proportion of women aged 20-24 years who entered into registered or unregistered marriage before the age of 18 decreased from 2.85% in 2018 to 0.05% in 2022;

- the proportion of women aged 15-49 years making their own decisions about sexual relations, contraceptive use and seeking reproductive health services (based on MICS results for 2021-2022) was 54.7%;

In the world rankings on gender indicators:

- in the Global Index of Women, Business and the Law, Uzbekistan's ranking improved by 6.2 points, i.e. 70.6 points (out of 100 points) in 2022;

- in the gender data accessibility ranking published by Gender Data Compass in 2022, Uzbekistan ranked 56th in the world among 185 countries and 3rd in Central Asia. In the Open Data Watch data openness ranking, the country ranked 1st among Central Asian countries and 30th among 195 countries in the world.

Women's role in the socio-economic sphere.

By 2023, the average annual number of employed people in Uzbekistan was 13.7 million. In recent years, the employment of the male population has been growing intensively, while the number of women employed in the economy has been decreasing. Consequently, the employment structure by sex is changing; in 2022, the share of women employed in the economy decreased slightly to 41.2%.

Table 1. Number and share of the employed in the economy in Uzbekistan. (Source: Statistical Agency under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan)

Alongside the positive developments in overall employment, the unemployment rate still remains at a high level. It falls slightly to 8.9 % in 2022, due to a decrease in male unemployment to 5.4 %.

Among women, despite the increase in employment in absolute terms over 2021-2022, female unemployment remains high at 13.4 %.  

Picture 1. Female employment in the economy and unemployment rate among women. (Source: Statistical Agency under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan)

Nevertheless, over the past few years, the main trends, including positive ones, characteristic of the role of women in the economic life of the republic have persisted:

- Women occupy a special place in all spheres of society. In 2022, women accounted for 77% of those employed in health care, 74 % in education, and 46% in the economy and industry.

- In order to improve women's living and working conditions, more than 872,000 women were employed in 2022. More than 250,000 were trained in professions and entrepreneurial skills in demand in the labour market.

- The difference between the average monthly wages of men and women decreased from 38.6% to 34.0% during the period under review.

- In 2022, the housing conditions of some 14 thousand women were improved, and practical assistance was provided to some 642 thousand women under the "Women's Notebook" system.

Picture 2. Infographic on SDG Goal 5. "Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls"

As can be seen, Uzbekistan has made significant progress in the development of the national economy, labour market and social protection systems, with a special concern for increasing women's economic activity. However, the country still faces the problem of transition from informal to formal employment.

To date, high rates of employment in the informal sector, together with other labour market distortions, are the reasons for the slowdown in the increase of employment in the formal sector and economic growth, as well as in the modernisation of the economy. In 2022, the share of the employed population in the informal sector decreased by 4.2% points year-on-year to 39.6 % The share of employed women in the informal sector of the economy is particularly high at 47.4%.

Table 2. Indicators for SDGs. Goal 8. Promote sustained and inclusive economic growth through effective employment and decent work for men and women. (Source: SDG jointly with the Statistical Agency under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan)

Source: SDG jointly with the Statistical Agency under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

According to the ILO study "Women and Labour in Uzbekistan. Towards Gender Equality and Decent Work for All" Uzbekistan has taken significant steps to improve the situation of women in the world of work, but gender disparities still persist. Gender-equitable social and economic development requires the promotion of decent work and social protection for all, and the elimination of gender bias in laws, policies, institutions and practices.

The main conclusions of this study on the prevailing forms of gender inequality are that significant gender inequality persists in Uzbekistan, despite serious efforts to improve the status of women in the labour market. In order to ensure gender equality, it is necessary to provide all citizens with decent work and social protection, while eliminating gender bias in the legislative, policy, institutional and practical spheres.

Key observations of the study include the following:

- Most women do unpaid childcare and household work, while most men do paid work.

- The inability of national economies to create sufficient decent jobs affects women more than men.

- Women predominantly occupy junior positions and are involved in childcare and household chores.

- Women's labour is underpaid and the value of professions considered female is undervalued.

- Women fulfil family responsibilities due to prevailing gender norms.

- Most jobs are in the informal economy.

- The public sector is the main source of formal jobs for women.

- The national statistical system provides little information on gender equality and decent work.

- Gender equality as a social problem is mainly addressed at the micro-level, but requires broader and more systematic efforts.

- Gender inequality can have an unintended negative effect by perpetuating unequal treatment.

- Existing legislation requires further development to ensure equality of opportunity and treatment, including the elimination of violence and harassment at work.

- Women face increasing risks, including with regard to job creation and social protection.

- In its current form, the maternity protection system discourages the recruitment of women of reproductive age.

In order to address the above issues, the study proposes the following recommendations:

1. Make decent work and gender equality a priority goal of public policy.

2. Facilitate the transition from the informal to the formal economy.

3. Adopt a comprehensive national equality policy.

4. Establish a minimum level of social protection and pregnancy benefits to support working women.

By implementing these recommendations, Uzbekistan can take a significant step forward towards achieving gender equality and improving working conditions for all its citizens as a whole.

Thus, despite the successes achieved in various areas, Uzbekistan needs to continue its efforts to address gender inequality, create more formal employment opportunities for women and strengthen social protection.

By sustaining current policies and results-based reforms, Uzbekistan will create a more inclusive and equitable productive environment for all its citizens.

The Government of Uzbekistan recognises that sustainable economic growth cannot be achieved without structural reforms and substantial investment in governance, rule of law, human and labour rights, natural resource management and environmental protection. Despite progress in strengthening the role of women, certain challenges remain, such as property rights and the low proportion of women in high-level decision-making positions. Traditional stereotypes affecting women's roles in society have not been eradicated.

Thanks to the increased education and economic activity of women, Uzbekistan has made significant progress in the human development and gender equality indices. However, despite these achievements, gender equality and increasing the role of women in the socio-economic and political life of society remains a pressing issue on the government's agenda and requires sustained attention in order to shape a more effective socio-economic policy of the republic.

Source: Women and Labour in Uzbekistan. Towards achieving gender equality and decent work for all (ILO report December 2020).

Legal and regulatory base for the protection of women's rights in Uzbekistan

Full-scale changes are being carried out in our Republic in the area of increasing the economic role of women and their social support. Measures are being taken to consolidate these measures and to improve the legal and regulatory framework for the protection of women's rights in the Republic.

The latest version of the Labour Code, adopted in April 2023, enshrines the following fundamental principles:

- equality and guarantees of labour rights with inadmissibility of discrimination;

- free labour, social partnership, and the prohibition of forced labour;

- prohibition of worsening the legal status of workers;

- guarantees of gender neutrality in labour legislation concerning workers with family responsibilities.

In recent years, the Government has adopted a number of resolutions on various areas of support for women's rights, including guarantees, benefits and privileges for women.

Guarantees of labour rights of women.

Enhancing guarantees of women's labour rights and support for women's entrepreneurship enhances women's economic opportunities to be competitive in national and international marketplaces, expand their businesses and provide employment for women and girls.

In accordance with the Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Measures to Further Strengthen Guarantees of Labour Rights and Support for Women's Entrepreneurial Activity" RP-№4235, the following has been established as of 1 May 2019:

- Prohibitions on the use of women's labour in certain industries or professions are abolished;

- A recommended list of industries or professions that may adversely affect women's health is approved;

- If the father takes at least three months of childcare leave, one of the parents is granted an additional one-month childcare leave with payment of an allowance in accordance with the procedure established by the Labour Code;

- One of the parents bringing up a child under the age of 2 is entitled, in agreement with the employer, to the right to set the break time to be used during the day at the expense of breaks for rest, meals and feeding the child during work;

- It is prohibited to terminate on the employer's initiative an employment contract concluded for an indefinite period of time in connection with the attainment by women of retirement age or the emergence, under the law, of the right to an old-age pension before women reach the age of 60, or a fixed-term employment contract before its expiry;

- When cases of violation of equality between men and women are brought before the courts, legal fees for legal services rendered to women by lawyers are covered, at their request, at the expense of the State.

Guarantees for women at termination of labour contract

According to the Labour Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, termination of the employment contract with pregnant women and women with children under 3 years of age on the employer's initiative is not allowed, except in cases of complete liquidation of the enterprise, when termination of the employment contract is allowed with compulsory employment. The employment of these women is carried out by the local labour authority, with the provision during the employment period of appropriate social benefits established by law.

Work in which the employment of women is prohibited

It is prohibited to use women's labour in jobs with unfavourable working conditions, as well as in underground work, except for certain underground work (non-physical work or sanitary and domestic service work).

It is prohibited for women to lift and move weights exceeding the maximum permissible norms for them.

Employment guarantees for pregnant women and women with children

According to the Labour Code, it is prohibited to refuse to hire women and to reduce their wages on the grounds of pregnancy or the presence of children.

Baby feeding breaks

Women with children under 2 years of age are provided with additional nursing breaks in addition to rest and meal breaks. These breaks are provided at least every 3 hours and last at least 30 minutes each. If there are two or more children under 2 years of age, the duration of the breaks is not less than one hour.

Feeding breaks are included in working hours and are paid at the average monthly wage.

PRIVILEGES

Benefits in labour relations based on the Labour Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan Reduced working hours for women and restrictions on women's labour.

- One of the parents (guardian) of a child under 3 years of age working in organisations financed from the budget shall have a working time of not more than 35 hours per week. (Article 397).

- Workers with reduced working hours are remunerated at the same rate as workers with full-time daily work.

Benefits to women when prioritising annual and additional leave.

- Pregnant women and women who have given birth to a child are granted annual labour leave at their request, respectively before or after maternity leave.

- One of the parents (person replacing the parents) of two or more children under the age of 12 or a child with a disability under the age of 16 is granted additional paid annual leave of at least 4 calendar days.

- One of the parents (person replacing the parents) of two or more children under the age of 12 or a child with a disability under the age of 16 is granted, at their request, an annual leave without pay of at least 14 calendar days.

Relocation of pregnant women and women with children to lighter work.

- Pregnant women, in accordance with a medical report, have their production norms or service norms reduced or are transferred to lighter work or work that excludes exposure to unfavourable production factors, while retaining their average monthly earnings in their previous job.

- Until the issue of granting a woman lighter work or work that excludes exposure to unfavourable production factors is resolved, she is subject to release from work with retention of average monthly earnings for all working days missed as a result.

- Women with children under 2 years of age are transferred to lighter work or work that excludes exposure to unfavourable production factors, with retention of the average monthly earnings for the previous work until the child reaches the age of 2 years, if it is impossible to perform the previous work.

Childcare leave

- A woman is granted maternity leave for 70 days before childbirth and 56 (in the case of complicated labour or the birth of two or more children - 70) calendar days after childbirth, with payment of state social insurance benefits.

- At the end of maternity leave, at the woman's request, she is granted maternity leave to care for her child until the child reaches the age of two, with payment of benefits for that period in accordance with the procedure established by law.

- At her request, a woman is also granted additional leave without pay to care for her child until the child reaches the age of three years.

- During the period of childcare leave, a woman retains her place of work. These leaves are counted as length of service, but not more than six years in total, including length of service in her speciality.

- Childcare leave is not counted in the length of service entitling a woman to a subsequent annual paid leave, unless otherwise provided for in a collective agreement or other local act of the enterprise or in an employment contract.

- Women who have a continuous employment record for the last 6 months in all legal entities, except for budgetary organisations, are paid maternity benefits from the State budget based on the minimum monthly consumer expenditures. (Presidential Decree PD-№87 of 07.03.2022 «On measures to further accelerating the work on systemic support for families and women»).

Privileges in other fields

Training women in professions in mahallas.

Social services for women in the mahallas will be provided on the basis of an integrated approach.

Presidential Decision PD-№300 of 29.06.2022 "On measures to raise to a new level the system of providing social services and assistance to families in need of social protection, as well as to further accelerating the work on training women in the mahallas,

Provision of affordable housing for women in need of housing.

Women who are in need of housing, including those facing difficulties in their lives, mothers with disabilities, low-income people raising children in single-parent families and those in need of improved housing. Affordable housing is provided annually through soft mortgages.

Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated 12.04.2018. RCM-285 «On approval of the provision of affordable housing for women in social distress, mothers with disabilities, poor, bringing up children in a single-parent family and needing to improve living conditions»,

Additional State grant and preferential loan for women entering the university, as well as a recommendation for women entering the university.

Women from low-income families are recommended for admission to higher education on the basis of a State grant.

Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated 07.03.2022 PD-№87 «On measures to further accelerating the work on system support of the family and women».

Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated 23.06.2020  RCM-№402 «On approval of the regulation on the procedure of recommending women from low-income families to participate in the competition and the organization of their admission to higher education institutions within the limits of the indicators of admission on the basis of additional state grants».

Procedures for obtaining protection orders for women victims of harassment and violence

Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan RCM-№3 of 04.01.2020 «On measures on improving the system of protection of women against oppression and violence» defines the procedure for the internal affairs agencies to issue a protection order to injured women, as well as providing a copy to the perpetrators.

A protective order prohibits contact between the perpetrator and the victim and places them in the same room. A protective order may include:

-  Prohibition of communication between the victim and the perpetrator (indirect communication between the victim and the perpetrator is permitted in the workplace and in educational institutions), as well as their sharing in the same room;

-  Prohibition or restriction of the right of the rapist to possess and bear a weapon (other than an official one) and to obtain a permit to purchase one.

The order is issued for 30 days. If the danger is not eliminated within this period, the order is extended for another month at the request of the victim.

Privileges in criminal responsibility

According to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, there are restrictions on the use of penalties for women in criminal legislation. There are a number of restrictions on the use of punishments for women in criminal legislation.

- Compulsory community service or correctional labor in the form of criminal punishment is not applied to pregnant women and women with children under the age of 3 years.

- Punishment in the form of imprisonment for committing crimes committed by negligence or less serious crimes is not assigned to pregnant women and women with children under the age of 3 years.

- Long term of imprisonment (over 20, but not more than 25 years) or life imprisonment cannot be imposed on a woman.

- The commission of a crime by a pregnant woman is recognized as a mitigating circumstance.