For 16 days every year, starting on November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, until December 10, Human Rights Day, the UN comes together with international partners, civil society organizations and communities around the world to join the ‘16 Days’ campaign to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls. To mark this year’s campaign and raise awareness of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Uzbekistan, our UN country team interviewed a local activist and University Professor Kamola Alieva, who, after teaching law for over 10 years, established a grassroots student volunteering group to help tackle GBV in her community. The hallways of the Tashkent State University of Law (TSUL) are noisy as usual. But as soon as the university radio announces that the classes are about to begin, the scene changes – the noise quiets down and the crowd hurries toward the lecture hall where Associate Professor Kamola Alieva is about to start her morning lecture on Constitutional Law.   Kamola has been teaching at TSUL already for over a decade. Teaching for her is not just about creating future Uzbek lawyers, it also gives her the opportunity to meet and interact with different people and to conduct her research.     "Besides teaching, I have been researching subjects like violence against women, domestic violence, and harassment in the workplace. I have been doing this for several years now,” Kamola says. “I also regularly share my thoughts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The point is It is important to me to openly talk about the problem of violence and the gender stereotypes which reinforce this very culture of violence. Yes, gender-based violence, unfortunately, does exist, and we cannot just turn a blind eye to it." 'Together we become stronger' A little over a year ago, Kamola founded a student volunteering group. To help advocate against gender-based violence and to spread the word about harmful gender stereotypes, the students created a series of short videos, which they later posted over social media. One of their videos, which staged a scene of a women being harassed on a busy Tashkent street and filmed the reactions from onlookers, received a particularly strong response from viewers. The clip got over 800,000 views and spiked a heated discussion in the comments section. Encouraged by the result, the team is now actively working on new content.         "We can't completely eradicate violence and inequality, but we can – and should – change people's attitude towards it. For example, the more people see domestic violence as a social problem, the more likely they and the society as a whole will be willing to get to the root of the problem. It is important to carry out educational and advocacy work, and it is crucial to engage young people in it.  I founded the volunteer group with this thought in mind, and now I see that more and more students are willing to join us,” – shares Kamola. “After all, together we become stronger". According to the Uzbek Interior Ministry, as of October 2022, 32,783 women and girls who had been subjected to harassment and violence received protection orders. “I often get messages from women and girls from different parts of Uzbekistan. They ask me for help and share photo- and video-proofs of them being abused. If I can't assist them, I redirect their appeals to the authorities. It is heartbreaking to read these messages and see women and girls suffering,” Kamola continues. “You know, it's as if I'm sharing the pain with them. Here we have a saying – ‘There is no such thing as someone else’s pain’. And I believe so too.” 'Someone’s ray of hope', or 'Do I really need to be doing this?' In 2021, Kamola gave an interview to one of Uzbekistan’s most popular media outlets, in which she argued that society still sees violence against women as a private family matter. She explained why this attitude must change. "After the interview came out, I was barraged with criticism, insults, and threats. This was very unpleasant and psychologically difficult for me. I even asked myself, "Do I really need to be doing this?" After all, my both mental and physical well-being was at stake. Many of Kamola’s friends and colleagues, showed their support with her advocacy efforts and encouraged her to carry on. But there were also those who tried to convince her to give it all up. "Until about 2016, I never thought we had a problem with domestic violence. But only because things like “gender equality” or “domestic violence” were never mentioned anywhere or spoken about. We grew up in a society where domestic violence was seen as a private family matter. Social pressure dictated that we have to stay meek and humble. And eventually, we just stopped resisting." Despite many hurdles, Kamola managed to stay motivated and carry on the fight. "My motivation came back when I realized, how many more people I could educate and help reduce gender-based violence. But the most moving moment was when I received a message from a woman who wrote: ‘You may be someone’s only ray of hope in the darkness. Please, don't give up’."  16 days and counting Each year on November 25, the "16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence" campaign kicks off all over the world. For Kamola Alieva, these 16 days are an important opportunity to shine a light on GBV issues in her own community, and mobilize action and support to end all forms of GBV in Uzbekistan. This year the UN Team in Uzbekistan together with its national partners, international organizations, and NGOs are planning several dozens of events and activities in support of “The 16 Days”. The key events include discussions on the promotion of gender equality (UNDP), the launch of the "Gender Equality in the Workplace" report (UNFPA), a ceremony to mark the completion of the educational program aiming to equip girls (including girls with disabilities) with digital skills (UNICEF). Among other planned events are a series of meetings with students of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan (UNODC) and discussions on the gender strategy to be adopted by the State Committee of Forestry of Uzbekistan (FAO).  

In Uzbekistan, when a low-income household applies for financial support, it is common practice for a Mahalla* Commission – a self-governing body made up of 15 respected members of the community – to screen and review each individual application in person.  “In the past, many documents were required to receive pensions and financial assistance… including a certificate from three neighbours indicating whether we were working or not,” says Dildora Abiyatova from Sirdarya region in eastern Uzbekistan.    “There were a lot of people in the commission when they invited us to talk… We couldn’t tell the story to everyone… It was embarrassing to tell them about our situation” says Malika Qosimova, a young mother from the same region.   For the thousands of families seeking assistance through the Commission, the process was often humiliating and emotionally challenging.   To help avoid this unnecessary distress and ensure households across Uzbekistan receive more targeted forms of support, the UN in Uzbekistan – led by UNICEF, ILO and UNDP have worked together with the government to launch UN Joint Programme on Strengthening Social Protection.   Initially launched in 2020, the joint programme aimed to strengthen the country’s social protection system and improve support to vulnerable populations through more targeted needs assessments and a closer integration of social workers within the community.   Through this professional assessment, social workers were able to build more tailored and needs-specific response plans for families and move away from the one-solution-fits-all approach which does not work in social services.   As part of this Joint Programme, the UN Country Team piloted a new Social Protection Single Registry (SPSR) – a digital and transparent system for applying, assigning, and paying social benefits to low-income families. The SPSR provides a comprehensive picture of the national profile of beneficiaries, as well as the performance of the national social protection system overall. To strengthen social assistance across the country and to solve the root causes, the UN and partners have been working on case management in close collaboration with mahalla-level social workers.  Through the work of the joint programme, the testing of social services based on case management conducted in Tashkent and Angren successfully reached 106 families, including 192 children (101 boys and 91 girls), and 12 children with disabilities (8 boys, 4 girls).   As well as serving as a unified database, the SPSR removes barriers to accessing social protection programmes by streamlining application, eligibility assessment and benefit delivery processes.   “The SPSR is a foundation of a digital technology platform as part of the overall strategy of reforming the social protection system in the country," says Geoffrey Ijumba, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Uzbekistan. "It is expected to become a central delivery mechanism for all social protection programmes in the future," he added.   Over the past three years, the SPSR has provided social allowances to more than 1,600,000 families across Uzbekistan, helping them overcome a number of challenges related to low income. Particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, this improved social protection system offered a powerful buffer of support to the most vulnerable groups across the country; recognizing that alongside protecting people’s health, it was essential to preserve incomes and employment opportunities.   “Now everything has changed”, says Dildora.  “Only a birth certificate, passport copy, and marriage certificate are required. Now there is no need to run around different offices.”  As well as the economic fallout caused by the pandemic, Uzbekistan – like other countries around the world – is now facing a triple crisis of food, energy and finance, which poses a new set of challenges to vulnerable groups across the country.    Without effective social protection measures to support these groups during periods of crisis, poverty will continue to pass from one generation to the next. UN agencies across Uzbekistan are committed to working with partners to strengthen systems of support, and end needless cycles of poverty.   *Mahalla is a self-governing community or neighbourhood which plays an important role in monitoring social well-being and the welfare provision on the ground.  

Some of them are familiar to almost everyone and used in consumer goods: fertilizers, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, nanomaterials, plastics, paints, heavy metals, including lead and mercury. Let’s take for example one of them, which is extremely dangerous, that is the lead contained in paint. According to the estimates as of 2019 (for several chemicals and groups of substances with necessary data available), 2 million people die and 53 million lose life annually due to poisoning by the same. Another 9 million people die due to air, water, and soil pollution. New data on the impact on health associated with hazardous exposure to chemicals are constantly emerging. For example, about the capacity of the chemicals to impact on the human body during the prenatal period and at the stage of early development with long-term negative health consequences and the risk of the development of chronic diseases from low doses of chemicals and about the combination of effects of several substances. The medical care provided with respect to the exposure to chemicals and health losses is estimated at $ 4.6 trillion per year, which is 6.2% out of global economic development. The European Union has assessed the cost of human health in relation to the exposure to chemicals disrupting the endocrine system functions (developmental deficits, reproductive problems by males and females, obesity and diabetes). Medical expenses amount to EUR 163 billion per year. In May 2017, the Chemicals Road Map was adopted at the 70th session of the World Health Assembly. It has been developed for the Member States to apply it at all stages of development and to enhance the role of the health system in a strategic approach to the international chemicals management towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The Road map consists of four areas: risk reduction, knowledge and data, institutional capacity, and leadership and coordination, that is, specific actions where the health sector plays a leading or important supporting role in, with recognizing the need for multisectoral cooperation. The World Health Organization has completed the work on a Guide for the Prevention and Treatment of Lead Poisoning and recommends using it in practical life, as well as to start withdrawal of lead-containing paints from circulation in accordance with the goals of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint. And therefore, to minimize the negative impact of chemicals on human health and the environment. All those issues have been discussed at a workshop organized by the Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan and the Representative Office of the World Health Organization in Tashkent. It was attended by the heads of laboratories from all regions of the country, including Mr. Botirjon Kurbanov, the Deputy Director of the Service on Sanitary and Epidemiological Well-being and Public Health. It was the first workshop on the impact of chemicals, and, in particular, lead paints, on the health and development of children. The Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan and the WHO will continue their efforts on studying the issue of the lead paints. The preliminary plan of follow-up actions has been developed, which includes training and research work.    

The three young women recently participated in Technovation Girls Uzbekistan, the largest tech programme for girls and young women in the country where participants apply their skills to develop solutions to real-world problems through technology. Hosted by Technovation Girls, a global tech education non-profit that empowers young women and girls to become tech entrepreneurs and leaders, and supported by UN agencies including IOM, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, UNAIDS and other partner organizations in Uzbekistan, the programme has been empowering young women and girls in Uzbekistan since 2018. Malika, Madina and Sarvinoz shared their thoughts on girls in tech, the importance of (parental) encouragement, and their long-term plans. Malika, 17 Hello, I’m Malika! I am from Uchkuduk, a small town in Navoiy region in central Uzbekistan. I'm studying at a high school, in Tashkent, and preparing for my entrance exams to a tech university. I really enjoy maths, physics, chemistry, biology, and English. I used to think that I would dedicate my life to medicine and become a doctor. But after Technovation Girls, I realized that my future lies within technology and engineering. And this has been driving me for the past three years. My mom and dad are very encouraging; it is important for them that their kids discover their true calling. I am incredibly grateful to them for paying the tuition for my English courses and making sure I have the equipment I need for my tech projects, including a laptop and a cell phone. During Technovation I learned how to develop startups, how to code, and most– importantly – how to work in a team and set goals. My team and I created iMigrant, a mobile app that helps migrants find the legal information, advice, and other useful local services that they need. Although STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is a much sought after area of study, women and girls are still unrepresented in the field. In the future, I’d like to open my own STEM centre for girls in Uzbekistan to encourage them go into the science and technology fields, and break the stereotypes that girls are not able to achieve success in engineering and IT. Madina, 19 Hi all, I'm Madina from Namangan, a city in the beautiful Fergana Valley in eastern Uzbekistan. I am currently studying computer science and economics at Brandeis University in the United States. Big wins start with small steps. My family were the only ones supporting my passion for computer science. So naturally I wasn’t expecting to fit within society’s stereotypical narratives about women in tech. But now I see that attitude toward women in tech is changing. At Technovation, other girls and I developed an app that is helping to connect local non-profits and volunteers interested in tackling issues related to community development. Participating in technology programmes taught me to be more focused and diligent. I [also] learned to create a mobile app from scratch and to develop a basic business plan. Most importantly, deep diving into the tech world has significantly changed the way I look at technological innovation. With time I realized that there are a lot of people who are willing to support you, you just need to find them. And now, when there are more and more girls entering the IT and STEM fields, it’s important they feel inspired and empowered. And personally, I believe that Uzbekistan, as a country, is ready to support young aspiring girls in STEM, especially IT. Sarvinoz, 18 Hi, I’m Sarvinoz. I was born into an ordinary family in Tashkent. Now I am a first-year computer science student at the Riga Business School in Latvia. I am very grateful to my parents. Seeing my fiery eyes, my parents supported my choices. They never doubted that I would succeed. I liked all subjects at school, but I especially enjoyed geography, mathematics, and literature. I enjoy Russian classics as well as modern Western authors. Currently I’m reading Stephen Covey’s book, "Speed of Trust.” In 2020, I competed in Technovation Girls Uzbekistan for the first time. My team and I worked on an eco-project and developed an app-game to teach users about environment preservation and sustainability. The basics of programming and business, among other skills I learned there, are now very useful to me at university. But the best part was the valuable and useful network I established. In 2021, I participated in Technovation once again, this time as a Student Ambassador. I don't dream, I set goals. And one of them is to return to my homeland as a strong professional, and, by contributing to the development of society, bring Uzbekistan to a new level.