The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Friday (November 25) held a conference that discussed the world’s best practices in combatting and preventing gender-based violence. Hosted in Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent, the event reflected on the republic’s measures aimed at ensuring gender equality, including the adoption of the 2019 Law On Protection of Women against Harassment and Violence.
‘I think that we have created a legal basis for gender equality. We have ratified international conventions and implemented them in our legislation. Both laws that we adopted in 2019, in my opinion, play a significant role. In Uzbekistan, we have also adopted the social framework for pursuing a policy for the state on gender equality. I noticed that in taking up some business, women bring it to an end; women are more stubborn and persistent than men’, Uzbekistan’s prominent Doctor of Law Foziljon Otakhonov stressed in a talk with the Daryo correspondent.
The Act marked a fundamental change in how the justice system addresses the rights of women and girls and has introduced specific measures to make the new guarantees established by the Act a reality.
‘Since adopting the law on the prevention of violence in 2019, several steps have been taken which are identified as a significant contribution to combatting gender-based violence. We have already introduced a protective order, which is issued for a month and can be extended longer. There are also rehabilitation centers in the republic, where women are provided psychological, medical, and legal assistance. Today it was said that about 39,000 appeals of women had been registered. Unfortunately, there are more of those women who do not ask for help. Women should know that they are under the protection of the state, not be afraid because together we are strong!’, Doctor of Law Professor Lola Saidova said to the Daryo correspondent on Friday.
The event participants also reflected on the reasons causing domestic violence and gender inequality in all parts of the globe. Talking to the Daryo news agency, Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prosecutor General Svetlana Artikova emphasized that both laws and upbringing are crucial in combating gender-based crimes:
‘The main reason lies in the woman herself. We must educate our daughters and granddaughters to be mentally strong to resist. A strong and highly educated person will never be violent to another person, whether it is a woman, a boy, or a girl. A mother should feel confident in herself. A man should feel that he is the head of the family and protect it. If we educate people in this perspective, then the strong political will expressed by the head of our state would provide broader opportunities to make these two important laws work. This is what we want, and we will succeed!’, Deputy Prosecutor General Svetlana Artikova said.
‘The United States Government is committed to ending gender-based violence, promoting gender equality and women's economic empowerment at home in the United States and worldwide. And that is why we are working very closely with the Government of Uzbekistan to help end violence against women. The Government of Uzbekistan has taken several practical steps to advance these efforts. Through USAID, the United States is very proud to work in partnership to help with some of those laws to protect women. I'm happy to be part of over 119 countries launching this 16 Day campaign worldwide. This is just one of the initiatives the US government is working on in partnership with the government. We have also provided free legal advice to over 25,000 people who needed this legal service. We've also trained 12,000 employees from the government, civil society, journalists, and bloggers to raise awareness on this important initiative and also 125,000 women. In addition, we've provided vocational training to over 1,000 victims of gender-based violence, who now can start their businesses and be entrepreneurs. Some things have been done already, but so much more must be done to fight violence against genders, not only here in Uzbekistan but worldwide. We need to make sure that perpetrators are caught immediately, we need to make sure that there's more self-awareness that women know about their rights, and we need to make sure that they are given the treatment and the care that they deserve to help them get beyond what's happened. This will help them as individuals, their communities, and the country', USAID Uzbekistan Mission Director Michaela Meredith said, addressing the media outlets.
Michaela Meredith added that much needs to be done to protect women in their families and society.
‘We continue to provide vocational training so that victims of gender-based violence can get jobs and start their businesses if they want to. We will also continue our social awareness training for government officials, journalists, civil society, and citizens about women's rights. We need to show that it's not right, it's not inevitable, and it can be stopped’, Michaela Meredith concluded.
The conference is part of the global campaign titled 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, a civil society initiative launched in 1991 and coordinated by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership.
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