At the beginning of the 21st century, the role of women in economic development, education, health care and many other spheres have become as important as that of men. Since women have had access to higher education, they have proven again that they are not only successful in the housework, but can also work and function equally with men in other public jobs. A lot of achievements of women can be seen in the Republic of Tajikistan after gaining independence and the Decree of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan from December 3, 1999 № 5 “On increasing the status of women in society”.
In his annual Addresses, the Leader of the nation, among the most important issues concerning the economic, social and political life of the country, always pays attention to issues related to the life, work, role and status of women. We also saw the reality of this important point in the following message of the leader of the nation, which was delivered last year. In this message, the head of the country was pleased to state that: “The women of the country work together with men in the implementation of public policies and make a valuable contribution to the development of a democratic, legal and secular society”.
According to the Committee on women and family affairs under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, as of January 1, 2023, of the 18,549 civil servants, 4,503 (24.2%) are women, of whom 1,115 (19.0%) are senior staff. Of the 11,870 civil servants in the central public authorities and their structures, 2,858 (24.0%) are women, of whom 543 (16.6%) are senior staff. In local executive bodies of state power, out of 3,563 civil servants, 1,039 (29.1%) are women, of whom 316 (21.8%) are senior staff. In the self-governing bodies of settlements and villages, 606 (19.4%) of the 3,116 civil servants are women, of whom 256 (22.6%) are senior staff. Women also occupy a worthy place in the activities of the Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan. In the highest representative and legislative body of the country-Majlisi Oli, first convocation (1995-2000) 5 women, in Majlisi Namoyandagon of the Majlisi Oli, second convocation (2000-2005) 10 women, third convocation (2005-2010) 11 women, fourth convocation (2010-2015) 10 women, fifth convocation (2015-2020) 11 women, sixth convocation (2015-2020) 2020-2025) 15 women deputies were elected. It should be noted that the education and training of girls as future civil servants is being carried out with the support of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan through the establishment of a training center for orphans and homeless persons, “Charoghi Нidoyat”, where more than 100 girls are currently living and studying, who will be prepared to enter the civil service in the future. In addition, the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Institute for Advanced Training of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republican Institute for Advanced Training and Retraining of Education Workers of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Institute for the study of legality, law order, crime and advanced training of prosecutors of the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Judicial Training Center of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Tajikistan play a key role in the training of women as the specialists. The result of the support and activities undertaken by the Government of the country is an increase in the status and role of women in society, as well as an increase in their participation in public service every year.
It should be noted that in today’s education system, half of university graduates are women, who play an increasingly important role in various fields of management, including business, economics and politics, and every year an increasing number of women participate in the development of all sectors of the country. For example, according to statistics, in 1991, only 52 percent of the 95,000 employees in the country’s education sector were women and girls. In 2018, this figure reached 70 percent. In the health sector in 1998, out of 45,000 workers, 25,000 were women and girls. This figure rose from a total of 80 thousand workers in the sector to 51 thousand in 2018. By December 2022, the number of women in education had reached 73%, health care 71%, culture 47%, banking 39%, communications 25%, including almost 40% in information services. For example, while in 1995 there were 123 women in senior positions in the central government, in 1998 the number had risen to 213.
These examples prove that women can work in many different fields. Many girls from an early age show interest in science, technology, art and crafts. Modern educational centers, studios, creative workshops hold classes in various areas without reference to the gender of students, contribute to the development of their abilities.
It should be noted that with the support of the Government of the country, the number of female students is increasing every year and necessary measures are being taken for their development and involvement in science. One of the most valuable steps taken by the Leader of the nation in the first decade of independence was to take great care in enrolling girls in secondary and higher professional schools of the country. It was to attract girls from the remote mountainous regions of our country to higher educational institutions that a presidential quota was established in 1997 with the support of the leadership of the State, which is also a promising act to raise the status of women in society. Thanks to this concern for Tajik women and girls, the number of active and cultured women in our country is increasing day by day. This initiative of the Leader of the nation helped to increase their legal knowledge and make them educated. Currently, the total number of students of higher vocational education institutions in Tajikistan reaches 218.1 thousand, of which 89.1 thousand are girls. These figures are 12.7 thousand more than in 2018.
In particular, during the period of independence, 11,500 girls from distant mountainous areas graduated from the country’s higher education institutions under the presidential quota. During that period, 222,000 girls graduated from higher education institutions, and another 100,000 girls are currently enrolled in those institutions. For example, in one of the remote districts of our country, Ishkashim district of GBAO, 2,130 children of the residents of Ishkashim district, including almost 1,100 girls, graduated from higher educational institutions during the period of independence – noted the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Honorable Emomali Rahmon, during his visit to Ishkashim district of GBAO. Since 1997, i.e. since the creation of the presidential quota, 509 young people of the district, including 314 girls, have received higher education.
Necessary measures are being taken in Tajikistan to support women’s participation in social and economic life. In particular, in order to support women’s entrepreneurship, presidential grants have been provided since 2006 to public organizations and private individuals and entrepreneurs to improve women’s legal literacy, job creation and vocational skills training. According to statistical data, women make up 25% of the total number of individual entrepreneurs out of 85 thousand people, which is 1.7% in GBAO, Sughd region — 41.98%, Khatlon region — 27.46%, DRS — 16.78%, and in Dushanbe city — 12%.
It should be noted that according to the Committee on women and family affairs under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, 192 women’s and women’s entrepreneurial projects of the country were accepted to receive the presidential grant from February 15 to March 15, 2023, and after consideration by the competition commission, 80 projects worth 2 million 500 thousand TJS were supported.
The above analyses prove that the Tajik woman, as a creative force in society, strove for the improvement and progress of her country and conscientiously participated on an equal footing with men in all aspects of patriotism.
Abdulloeva S.N
chief specialist of the Department of Analysis
of Social Issues of the Center for Strategic Research
under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan
