Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the State of Kuwait

Shavkat Mirziyoyev: Respect for the honor and dignity of a person begins, first of all, with respect for our dear women

Tashkent hosted a solemn ceremony dedicated to International Women’s Day.

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, took part in the ceremony. In his speech, the Head of state expressed sincere love and deep respect for women.

“We look forward to this day every year with special warmth. On this festive day, we all bow to the greatness of our mother, the highly revered woman who gave us life, surrounded us with love, and raised us. After all, respect for a person’s honor and dignity begins, first of all, with respect for our dear women”, the President said.

Uzbekistan is carrying out large-scale work in this direction. In particular, within the framework of the Uzbekistan 2030 Strategy, extensive measures are being taken to increase women’s activity, protect motherhood and childhood, promote gender equality, and ensure women’s rights and interests.

This is evident in all areas, including politics. The Electoral Code stipulates that women must make up at least 40 percent of parliamentary candidates or 2 out of every 5 candidates. Today, the share of women in public administration has increased from 27 percent in 2017 to 35 percent.

Significant results have also been achieved in expanding women’s economic opportunities and developing women’s entrepreneurship. Over the past five years, the number of businesswomen in Uzbekistan has doubled, and the number of entrepreneurs who opened their businesses has exceeded 205 thousand. In addition, almost 200 thousand women were trained in various professions and entrepreneurship, and more than 400 thousand were provided with work.

Much attention is paid to realizing girls’ potential. Today, about 1 million 300 thousand students study in higher education institutions, more than half of whom are girls. Girls from low-income families are accepted for education with additional government grants. They are provided with preferential educational loans and coverage of contract costs for those needing social protection.

Women in Uzbekistan are achieving great success in science. Over the past seven years, 5,247 women have received academic degrees. Girls make up 47 percent of the participants in the “One Million Uzbek Coders” project.

“Despite the difficulties, we are finding additional opportunities, creating conditions for the development of social spheres, and realizing the potential of women and girls, and we will continue this work. After all, educating women, including girls, obtaining higher education, acquiring a profession will serve for the family’s happiness, the development of children, and the prosperity of the entire society as a whole”, Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.

The President dwelled on the tasks of improving women’s health, ensuring their employment, developing women’s entrepreneurship, and strengthening social protection provided for in the State Program for the Year of Support for Youth and Business.

A special commission headed by the Chairperson of the Senate will be organized in this direction. Until March 8 next year, the Commission will work in each region, where, based on an entirely new system and approaches, it will organize activities to train women in professions, provide employment, and attract them to entrepreneurship.

Hokims of regions, districts, cities, deputy hokims for women’s affairs, and active women, together with the Commission, will be responsible for providing employment to almost 580,000 unemployed women in 9,442 mahallas during the current year.

In general, within a month, a separate program will be adopted to attract women to entrepreneurship widely, and 15 trillion UZS will be allocated for project implementation. In addition, grants of $100 million will be attracted from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Japan, South Korea, and Germany.

The Association of Mahallas of Uzbekistan and its regional structures and activists, as part of the “mahalla of seven”, should become women’s assistants and close advisers on family issues.

Motherhood and raising a child are great missions. The population of Uzbekistan increases by almost 900,000 people annually. It is a sacred duty to educate them as physically and spiritually developed individuals in the spirit of patriotism.

In this context, the Head of state addressed all women.

“From now on, we must conduct spiritual and educational work in a completely new way. Guided by the principle “Humanism is our goal, education is our strength”, we must begin this important work, first of all, with the family and mahalla. As the holy hadith says, “there is no better legacy than a great upbringing”. It is in such issues that the responsibility of our dear women, who bless us as mothers, is demonstrated”, the President noted.

The attention paid to women in Uzbekistan is recognized internationally. A recently released World Bank index ranked Uzbekistan as one of the world’s five fastest-growing countries regarding gender equality. Uzbekistan will host another major event this year – the Asian Women’s Forum.

The President sincerely congratulated the foreign ambassadors and representatives of international organizations participating in the festive event.

By the Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan of March 4 this year, 28 girls were awarded the State Prize named after Zulfiya. In accordance with the decree of March 5, active women from various fields were awarded orders and medals. At the event, a ceremonial presentation of these high awards took place.

Women from different regions of Uzbekistan and representatives of government and public organizations celebrated the holiday at the festive table.

The event continued with a colorful concert program.