0., ,j"0_ MIl .. - - - .. THE PROBLEMS OF WOMEN - IN UZBEKISTAN .. (Research Project) .. .. .. .. • .. .. .. .. Tashkent, 2000 .. - I 2 .. .. .. .. .. II .. Winrock International .. .. The Open Society Institute!Assistance Foundation - Uzbekistan .. • • • The present research project was made possible through support provided by the United States Agency for International Development/Central Asia Regional Mission (under terms of grant number 122-0007-A-OO-9022-00) and the Open Society • Institute! Assistance Foundation - Uzbekistan. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development or the Open Society Institute! Assistance Foundation - • Uzbekistan . .. .. • • .. .. Table of Contenl .. Introduction .............................................................................................. .4 I. Conceptual basis of research ............................................................................ .5 .. 1.1 Goals and objectives of the project .......................................................... 5 1.2 Research methodology ........................................................................ 5 1.3 Targeted groups and selection procedure ................................................... 8 .. 1.4 Selection of the regions for research ....................................................... .11 .. 2. Women as a reflection of demographic trends ....................................................... 14 3. Differences in women problems identified in the course of survey .............................. 17 .. 4. WomenandEducation ................................................................................... 21 4.1 Decrease in the level of general education ................................................. 21 .. 4.2 Uneven access to vocational education .....................................................23 .. 4.3 Women in the system of informal education .............................................. .26 5. Discrimination and segregation of women on a labor market.. ..................................... 28 .. 5.1 Professional and industrial employment of women ....................................... 28 5.2 Discrimination during admission and dismissal.. ......................................... 29 5.3 Limitations in Career Growth ............................................................... .30 .. 5.4 Discrimination in Salary ...................................................................... 30 6. Problems of Women related to the type of employment ............................................ 31 • 6.1 Employees of Agricultural Sector ........................................................... .31 6.2 Problems of Highly Educated People ....................................................... 32 6.3 Problems of women in state service .........................................................34 • 6.4 Problems of women in formal business .....................................................35 6.5 Problems of women in informal business ................................................... 36 • 6.6 Problems of women - farmers ............................................................... 38 7. Unemployment among women ........................................................................ .39 • 8. WomenandSociety ...................................................................................... 43 .. 8.1 The role functions of women from family and community standpoint.. .............. .43 8.2 Family status of women .......................................................................44 .. 8.3 Public involvement of women .............................................................. .45 9. Violenceinthefamily .................................................................................. .49 - Conclusion ................................................................................................... .54 • .. .. - ; .. Introduction Within the last decade the economy of Uzbekistan has been characterized by a number of trends that were caused by an ongoing .. restructuring of socio-economical sector. Within the context of existent changes women are known to be performing the role of executors and consumers of products of reforms, reacting to emerging changes and .. influencing their character and rate. Women are showing their readiness and ability to adapt to a fast changing situation in social sphere and employment. No principal causes have been noted to validate the fact that Uzbek women, .. having adequate education and professional capabilities, are unable to use same opportunities in new conditions that are given to male population. However, the readiness of women to share the consequences of structural .. reforms comes at a high cost. Here we would like to refer to the conclusions of World Bank, that "although the economic reform in a long run is expected .. to be beneficial for both women and men, gender inequality at the family and market levels might instigate the fact, that women, especially underprivileged, would not be able to enjoy at once the benefrts of reforms· .. (World Bank, 1995, p. 55). That means that, firstly, economic reforms do not involve the grounds of gender inequality, and secondly, for majority of women "not at once" might stand for "too late". .. The present work is an attempt to estimate the social value of reforms and define the set of specific women problems during transitional period. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to employees of .. regional branches of Association of Business Women for their assistance in conducting this research. The present report sets out the results of research work, carried out • by a Sociological group under the direction of Nodira Azimova. The analysis of official statistical data has been prepared by Olga Nemirovskaya. • III • • .. .. .. .. - 5 .. 1. Conceptual basis of research 1.1. Goals and objectives of the project .. The goal of the present research is to reveal and identify the problems of women of different social groups and classes, differentiated by significant status features. In accordance with the goals of the research, the following objectives have been set in the course of the project: - problem classification based on empirical data determination of significant differences in the set of problems among .. women of diverse status characteristics .. problem ranking by its degree of significance 1.2. Research methodology .. It is important to specify that the goal of the present research is to study the problems of women caused by the structural reformation of all spheres of public life rather than women problems in general. Restructuring in a long run .. was aimed to solve a whole range of social and economical problems that . emerged during the soviet period. However the restructuring itself has been generating new difficulties that are reinforcing the negative effect of problems - that still persist. In general the social and economical problems could be categorized as follows: - I. Problems caused by existing objective situation on macro level (economic situation in the country and the region of the individual's residence and political conditions) - II. Problems related to economical activity of individual, i.e. her professional activity III. Problems related to the individual's functioning on a micro-social • level (family, neighborhood community, other social groups) .. Each of those groups considers numerous problems, the research of which would require excessive expenditures and development of cumbersome toolset. Therefore the study has been conducted on a stage­ by-stage basis. • Start-up interviews were conducted in 38 focus groups during the first stage. The purpose of interviews was to specify the problems and receive • quality information on the most crucial ones. A questionnaire has been developed on the basis of start-up interviews to conduct formal interviews and determine the pool of respondents for the survey. .. In accordance with its goals and objectives, the research has revealed problems, attributive to the women groups with different status features. The set of women problems has been defined on a basis of empirical data and - start-up interviews held during the first stage of the research. As a result, the set of women problems was divided into 3 categories: • I. Work and Study; .. II . Home and family, community; ____,_________ 0.·_".. _....... ___ _ 6 III. Ecology and health. - The second stage has revealed priorities and specific problems related to different social groups of respondents. The ranking has been performed - using the method of cumulative evaluation on a 3-grade sequential scale and method of paired comparison (to rank the problems with the same rank). The problem grouping is as follows: . - \ I. Work and professional study. - 1. no vocational schools in the neighborhood; 2. no means to receive vocational education; 3. parents or husband would not allow to study; - 4. large load of household responsibilities would not allow to get an education; 5. no workplaces in the community; - 6. impossible to find a job within the specialization; 7. only a low paid job is available; 8. employers are not eager to accept women to work 9. large load of household responsibilities would not allow to get a job; - 10. relatives and husband would not allow to work; 11. low wages; 12. no chance to get promoted at work; - 13. severe and hazardous working conditions; 14. very intensive job; 15. monotonous,