Uzbekistan Country Gender Assessment: Update

Gender roles and Norms

Uzbekistan’s civil, criminal, labor, and family laws are based on gender equality, and the legal framework for protecting women’s rights complies with international standards. the
traditional gender contract is not part of formal law or policy.⁵² However, it does prescribe the roles of women and men that govern gender relations and assigns them different jobs, values, responsibilities, and obligations.⁵³

In Uzbek society, traditional notions associated with to motherhood, children, and family are prevalent. If a woman decides to have a career in business, politics, or any other field, she is expected to balance her work with her reproductive functions. the traditional distribution of family responsibilities usually remains the same, adding to women’s time poverty and limiting opportunities for self-development, competitiveness in the labor market, SMe participation, and business size. It also impedes women’s career choices and aspirations.

Marriage and family are considered the pillars of society.⁵⁴ Given a choice, the parents of a young girl would opt to marry her off when she completes the mandatory secondary vocational education (college or academic lyceum), rather than strive for higher education. this decision might also have economic root causes since families, especially those with limited financial resources, give preference to sons when it comes to higher education because the daughters are expected to marry and leave the family home. Young men also have more leeway to marry at a later age, continue their education, or find jobs. these factors increase gender asymmetry in higher education.

Several government and nongovernment agencies are mandated to support the family as an institution. For instance, a commission under the makhallya committee is focused on preventing and resolving family conflicts, thus reducing the divorce rate. Members of the commission are

⁵¹ adB. 2015. Balancing the Burden: Desk Review of Women’s Time Poverty and Infrastructure in Asia and the Pacific. Manila.
p. 7.
⁵² the concept of a gender contract or gender agreement reflects the social form of the relationship between men and women. For example, until recently it meant that a married woman “agrees” to be a housewife and the husband assumes the role of breadwinner. thus, they conclude a kind of informal contract within the family and agree to fulfill the responsibilities pertinent to each of the assigned roles. (O. Voronina). 2005. The Glossary of Gender Terms. Institute of Social and Gender policy. Moscow.
⁵³ “Gender obligations of women and men are maintained on three levels: cultural superstructure (the norms and values of the society); institutions (family, welfare, education and employment systems); and socialization processes, basically in the family.” (european Institute for Gender equality). 1998. 100 Words for Equality. A Glossary of Terms on Equality between Women and Men. http://eige.europa.eu/rdc/thesaurus/terms/1159
⁵⁴ article 63 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan defines the family as the initial cell of society, and guarantees freedom of decision to enter into official marriage relations.
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makhallya consultants on spiritual and enlightenment issues (maslakhatchi) and respected members of the community whose responsibility is keeping peace in the family.

the number of divorces per year and the divorce rate are quite moderate. For instance, in 2017, there were 306,197 marriages (9.5% per 1,000) ad 31,929 divorces (1% per 1,000).⁵⁵

Consistent government policies and interventions carried out jointly with nongovernment stakeholders have dramatically reduced early marriage. In 2016, the average age of women at first marriage was 22.6 years, compared with 26 years for men.⁵⁶ to prevent child marriage, amendments to the Criminal Code and the administrative Code impose liabilities for violations.⁵⁷ together with relevant government and nongovernment stakeholders, the WCU has conducted broad interventions to increase awareness of the adverse effects of early marriage and childbirth.⁵⁸ For instance, the WCU helped organize Kizlarjon (girls’) societies in all educational institutions to train youth leaders to conduct outreach activities in early-

marriage prevention, personal hygiene, and healthy lifestyles among fellow students and peers (footnote 60).

Gender stereotypes, which significantly affect professional choices for women and men, have implications for education and career development opportunities. In many cases, parents, close relatives, or husbands significantly influence women’s educational choices. Family preference for a bride who can educate her children or take professional care of family members may increase the number of women in education and health. Other factors that might influence such a decision are the shorter workday, the absence of overtime pay, and the predominance of female staff in the work environment.

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