UN Women Executive Director meets Asian leaders in Uzbekistan to advance women's economic, social and political empowerment
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UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous conducted a three-day mission in Uzbekistan, from 12 to 15 May 2024, to bolster collaboration with stakeholders, and mobilize global action for gender equality and women's empowerment. During her visit, the Executive Director emphasized UN Women's support to Uzbekistan in advancing gender equality.
Ms. Bahous’ visit kicked off with her attendance at the Asian Women's Forum 2024 "Regional Approach in Issues of Women's Economic, Social and Political Empowerment”, a pivotal event for promoting gender equality, held on 13–14 May in Samarkand. There, she participated in high-level meetings with government officials, civil society representatives (CSOs), Asian women leaders and key partners. The Forum, organized by the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in cooperation with key stakeholders and with the support of UN Women, brought together around 400 Asian delegates, including high-level governmental officials, representatives of CSOs, academia and business, as well as social activists, international and local experts, and the media.
Sima Bahous, at the opening of the Forum, highlighted:
"Globally, gender equality has advanced in many areas, including the economic sphere. Yet, still barely half of the world’s women participate in the global workforce. This is not just unfair, it is wasteful. The Asian Women’s Forum was a great momentum to spark the change we need to advance the rights of women and girls in this region and beyond. I urge us all to seize this opportunity."
The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in his opening speech, stated:
"Today’s Forum is attended by the heads of international organizations and parliaments of Asian countries, senators and deputies, members of governments and civil society institutions, [and] many women entrepreneurs and scientists. I believe that thanks to your efforts, the first international conference held in our country will make a significant contribution to increasing the activity of women in the socio-political, economic, cultural, and humanitarian spheres, in exchanging experiences and strengthening friendly cooperative relations."
Sima Bahous underscored UN Women's support for advancing gender equality and women's empowerment (GEWE) agenda in Central Asia. The UN Women Executive Director recognized the commitment by Uzbekistan government to women's empowerment and the country’s progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and acknowledged the country’s initiatives and contributions to intergovernmental processes and multistakeholder fora. Sima Bahous also emphasized Uzbekistan's recent reforms, including criminalizing domestic violence and increasing the electoral quota for women. She underlined the importance of implementing all these policy changes and translating them into changes for women’s and girls’ lives in Uzbekistan. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening UN Women's collaboration in the country and further advance women´s rights in country on the road to 2030.
During her meeting with Tanzila Narbaeva, Chair of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, UN Women Executive Director discussed cooperation on SDG implementation, and on advancing gender equality and women's rights and empowerment. They discussed, inter alia, international standard indicators in gender-responsive planning and budgeting, and gender data. She also thanked Ms. Narbaeva for her commitment to gender equality through initiatives for empowering women and girls in the country, and for her contribution to the 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women.
Sima Bahous’s also met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, Bakhtiyor Saidov, and appreciated Uzbekistan's efforts in advancing the GEWE agenda and its pivotal role in the upcoming Beijing Platform for Action+30 review. Further, she commended the country’s valuable contributions to the 68th annual Commission on the Status of Women, stressing the importance of implementing its conclusions and subregional consultation outcomes, particularly regarding strengthening social protection programmes and addressing cultural norms hindering women’s economic participation.
Sima Bahous also met with Jamshid Kuchkarov, Minister of Economy and Finance and Deputy Prime Minister, and commended Uzbekistan's recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with UN Women on Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB). Sima Bahous congratulated Uzbekistan on becoming a pathfinder country for the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions and urged that women's economic empowerment and the care society be prioritized when implementing joint programmes. In their discussion, they touched on increasing the proportion of women in leadership positions and expanding women's access to educational and entrepreneurial resources. They also discussed recent achievements regarding employment and social protection issues while stressing the need to prioritize further economic inclusion of women.
UN Women Executive Director’s mission culminated with a meeting with leaders of non-governmental organizations, where she acknowledged their efforts in advancing gender equality and women´s rights. She also praised their instrumental efforts in changing legislation, such as criminalizing domestic violence, and in preparing shadow report of Uzbekistan's second Voluntary National Review. She also called for collective action to ensure that the upcoming Beijing Platform for Action review will be key for reaffirming the commitment to sustainable development, peace, security and equality.
Sima Bahous extended gratitude to the authorities of Uzbekistan for the initiative and hosting the Asian Women's Forum and their commitment to empower women and girls in the country. She also thanked them for support in promoting a programmatic presence in the country and efforts in advancing gender equality and expressed hope for the expansion and deepening of cooperation between UN Women and Uzbekistan.