Reforms and support programs are gradually improving women’s access to education, internships and business. Women now make up 54% of university students and 61% of research roles, while over 380,000 received loans in 2025. Social norms and gender-based violence still limit progress.
Uzbekistan has jumped 51 places in the global Gender Equality and Governance Index, from 103rd to 52nd, as a sweeping legislative overhaul embeds equality provisions across the constitution, the national development strategy and more than 110 separate legal acts.
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The World Bank's 2026 Women, Business and the Law report ranks Uzbekistan 48th out of 190 economies, up 43 places, with a legal framework score of 82.1 out of 100, above the global average of 67. The country achieved maximum scores in mobility, family, pay, childcare and asset rights, with further gains in labour and pension legislation.
Women now hold 38% of seats in the Legislative Chamber, 27% in the Senate and 32.5% in local councils, following the 2024 parliamentary elections.
Education and digital skills
Women now make up 54% of Uzbekistan's higher education student body — over 904,000 enrolled as of 2026 — and account for 61% of interns, research assistants and PhD students.
The government has moved to extend access to low-income women: state-funded bachelor's places for women from poor families have doubled from 2,000 to 4,000, while tuition-fee admission quotas for women with at least five years of professional experience but no degree have risen fivefold, from 500 to 2,500.
Muqaddas Sodikova, an entrepreneur from Andijon and mother of four, spent 12 years studying from home before using the scheme to enrol at Andijan State Pedagogical Institute. She later launched a business with UNDP support; her company, Sam Bright Line, now employs 18 permanent and more than 180 seasonal workers.
Uzbekistan is also an outlier in digital education: according to Coursera's Gender Gap in Generative AI analysis, it is the only country where women make up the majority of generative AI enrolments, at 58.9%.
Women in business and entrepreneurship
Women's entrepreneurship is accelerating. In 2025, more than 380,000 women received loans totalling €1.52bn to start businesses, as part of a broader push that supported around 2.3 million women into income-generating work through targeted lending, mentoring and training programmes.
BRB Bank alone has financed more than 11,000 women-led businesses, totalling around €29.34m, according to deputy department director Zulfiya Saburova.
"The loans are provided on favourable terms, including a seven-year repayment period and a two-year grace period," she said.
Some beneficiaries have scaled into export markets. Nargiza Bekmuratova, founder of textile company Artatex LLC, now exports to the United States, Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, with annual exports reaching around €3.72mn.
Changing workplaces
Women are gradually entering sectors long closed to them. Uzbekhydroenergo, the national hydropower operator, now employs 381 women among 1,435 specialists, including 40 in leadership roles.
In Samarkand, women are being trained as tram drivers.
"We have started training more women because they tend to drive carefully and interact well with passengers," said Sherali Namatov, director of the local tramway enterprise, which currently employs 14 women among its 80 staff.
A significant legislative barrier fell with Government Resolution No. 85, which lifted restrictions barring women from working as bus and heavy truck drivers.
The reform matters beyond symbolism: a 2025 initiative by the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection estimates that 60% of Uzbekistan's working women are currently in the informal economy, and is targeting their transition into formal roles with access to pensions and health insurance.
Deep-rooted social barriers
Despite reforms, gender-based violence (GBV) and harmful social norms remain major challenges. According to UN Women, all countries in Central Asia legal frameworks exist but enforcement gaps remain.
According to official statistics cited by the Senate, 48,303 cases of harassment and violence against women were registered in Uzbekistan in the first half of 2025 alone, marking a sharp increase compared with the same period the previous year. More than 6,000 people were prosecuted during that period.
Women at risk of violence can receive protection orders within 24 hours, access shelters and legal support, and offenders may face rehabilitation or administrative penalties.
In October 2025, a new shelter for survivors of GBV opened in the Fergana region, providing social, legal, and psychological support.
“Legal and educational progress is significant, but sustainable gender equality requires men to become active allies in households, workplaces and communities," emphasized UNDP Resident Representative Akiko Fujii.
Campaigns such as the 2025 “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” campaign and community capacity-building programs aim to shift social norms and strengthen protective mechanisms.
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