Empowering Women in Politics: Building Leadership for Gender Equality in Uzbekistan

April 17, 2024

The Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in collaboration with the Republican Commission for Increasing the Role of Women in Society, Gender Equality, and Family Issues, the United Nations Development Programme and with the financial support of the UK government, commenced a five-day training programme on 15 April 2024. The initiative aims to enhance the leadership potential of female representatives from various political parties.

The primary objective of the event is to equip candidates enlisted in the national personnel reserve, women's wings of political parties, and members of local councils—who advocate for gender equality in political spheres—with essential skills to augment their opportunities.

Furthermore, the event featured an award ceremony honoring the winners of the best scenarios competition, "Woman Leader in Politics: A Role Model," organized in March 2024 by the Republican Commission for Increasing the Role of Women in Society, Gender Equality, and Family Issues, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme. The competition aims to foster women's interest in active political participation, craft a contemporary image of female leadership, and cultivate a positive public perception of socially engaged women in politics.

The democratization of modern society necessitates active female participation in political life, underscoring the imperative of safeguarding women's rights as an integral component of human rights amidst ongoing globalization processes.

In the face of escalating political, economic, social, and environmental transformations, the demand for gender-sensitive parliaments is greater than ever. Achieving transformative institutional change toward gender-sensitive governance demands political resolve, leadership, self-reflection, strategic planning, reform, resource allocation, and accountability.

Gender equality in politics not only facilitates more inclusive crisis responses but also ensures that diverse and intersecting needs are met, ultimately leading to more effective outcomes. Women's leadership is pivotal in peacebuilding and diplomacy, as evidenced by peace agreements signed by female delegates, which often result in more robust peace accords. Moreover, female leaders female leaders have proven to take stronger measures to combat discrimination in political decision-making processes. In this regard, necessary conditions are being created to increase their capacity.

In recent years, Uzbekistan has enacted over 50 laws aimed at safeguarding the rights, freedoms, and legal interests of women. Article 58 of the new version of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan stipulates equal rights of women and men, the state provides equal rights and opportunities to women and men in the management of society and state affairs, as well as in other areas of society and state life. In particular, the Law signed by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on 18 December 2023 (LRU-883) stipulated that the participation of women in the elections should be at least 40 percent of the number of candidates for deputy from a political party.

Uzbekistan has always demonstrated its commitment to the goals and principles of the UN Charter and other universally recognized norms of international law. Our country ranked 45th among 190 national parliaments in the world ranking of the Inter-Parliamentary Union "Women in Politics" published on 1 January 2023. Uzbekistan entered the top 20 countries in the world with a score of 69.7 in the open gender data index published in September. According to the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network Uzbekistan improved by 8 positions ranking 69th among 166 countries (in 2022, it was ranked 77th).

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