Women Empowerment in Tajikistan.

The issues of equality between women and men have always been a concern for any society in the world, but this issue has always been an exceptional phenomenon in Eastern countries due to their consideration of particularities.

Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic and now an independent state in Central Asia, is no exception. In Tajikistan, issues of women's equality were also considered during the Soviet era, when Tajik women threw off the veil, and gained access to health care, medical care and other social support.

From the moment Tajikistan gained independence in 1991 and the terrible civil war from 1992 to 1997, the country has gone through a difficult period of recovery not only of the economy but of the entire state structure. This is not formed, is not reproduced in the institution of the family and especially in the life of Tajik women.

The mass labor migration of men in Russia after the Civil War changed the lives of many women who were left alone with their families - managing families, and children and ran running independent households. It was especially difficult for rural women (80% of women were engaged in agricultural production), including domestic animals for care and work on the land.

The difficult migration of men brought with it a number of Tajik women. One of them was an increase in the number of cases when men did not return and did not start supernatural families, leaving the fate of the wife and children to the population or dying in a foreign land. Due to financial problems, women in some regions of the country, left without a breadwinner, married their daughters early, thereby not providing them with education. That is, the first problem became the reason for the discovery of other problems - the tendency not to send girls to school after the 9th grade, which greatly affected their level of education. Labor migration has also become one of the frequent causes of divorce cases and the discovery of an increase in wage labor in the female labor market when they go to any hard work (loader, worker, builder, a worker in homes, etc.) in order to somehow feed their children.

In addition, due to the high employment observed to this day, many Tajik problems have increased dramatically due to the remittances of labor migrants. According to the World Bank, allocated transfers in 2022 amounted to 32% of GDP in Tajikistan (50% in 2012).

In general, many women in Tajikistan find it difficult to find a job because the employer is afraid that they are going on maternity leave. For the same reason, it is difficult for them to move up the career ladder, regardless of their professional qualities. In most cases, women are dependent on men, which makes it easy to get a job and advancement.

Usually, in Tajikistan, women earn less than men, and yet they still have to do housework. recruitment, the fact that a woman already has the right to work, a double burden arises, that is, women, as well as work at enterprises, dekhkan farms, hospitals, and schools, but in addition to this, men also do work at home.

To address gender issues in Tajikistan, back in 1991, the Committee on Women and Family Affairs was established under Tajikistan, and this has become one of the achievements of sovereign Tajikistan. As part of its activities, the Committee does a lot of work to support women and address gender issues.

Among the gender problems that are characteristic of modern Tajik society, one can name forced marriage, discrimination against women in the professional sphere, domestic violence, and harassment.

Forced marriage or arranged marriage is considered the norm in Tajikistan. Usually, parents choose a life partner for their children. The future wife is for the chosen parents, and the family decides whether to agree to the marriage or not. Some couples don't even get to know each other before marriage, and rejection by children is generally rarely accepted.

Among gender issues, the issue of the official from year to year is becoming more relevant. Features of the surge in crime intensify during the pandemic.

In 2022 alone, the police received 3 collected 485 alleged cases of domestic violence, according to a number of international organizations, 31% of Tajik women who have ever been married presented themselves with one form or another of gender persecution. In this recommendation, with the support of the government of Tajikistan, the UN and the association in Tajikistan, the Ray of Light Initiative program is being implemented, which aims to end sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls.

Another important gender issue is that women work more in low-paid areas. Industries dominated by women in Tajikistan are education (73% of women) and healthcare (71% of women), which tend to be underpaid compared to sectors dominated by men, such as economics, industry, construction and transport. It turns out that in the labor market, women account for more low-paid work, especially in rural areas. In addition, the tradition of having many children does not allow a Tajik woman to work fully, because the average Tajik family usually consists of 5-6 people.

According to the World Bank Country Gender Assessment, men in Tajikistan outperform women in all aspects of the human development index, with the exception of health indicators. Women's life expectancy at birth (76.8 years) exceeds that of men (73.5 years).

10 110 399 Population of Tajikistan at the beginning of 2023

4,965,479 Male population (49.2%)

5,136,366 Female population (50.8%)

Based on what has been said today, within the framework of gender issues in Tajikistan, much attention is paid to expanding the economic rights and opportunities of women to realize their economic potential, as well as accelerating the solution of a number of social problems - reducing unemployment, increasing household incomes, reducing poverty, increasing the social protection of women and children and more.

Tajikistan made one of the first steps towards gender equality back in the years of the civil war when in 1993 it ratified the “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women”.

The adoption in 2005 of the law “On state guarantees of equal rights for men and women and equal opportunities for their implementation” was another achievement for Tajikistan. The law aims to eliminate gender discrimination and through it the country recognized gender equality and empowered women to receive a decent education and have access to economic resources.

Continuation in the next part.