Women in Uzbekistan

The social and legal situation of women in Uzbekistan has been influenced by local traditions, religion, the Soviet rule, and changing social norms since independence.

Maternal healthcare and availability of contraceptives

The availability of contraceptives and maternal healthcare is mixed. 62.3% of women were using free contraceptives in 2003. However, the UN estimates that about 13.7% of women in Uzbekistan who would like to prevent, or delay, their next pregnancy are unable to do so because of limited access to contraceptives. In 2000, there were approximately 20,900 midwives in the country.

Forced sterilization

There are reports that forced sterilization of women is practiced in Uzbekistan. A BBC World Service "Assignment" report on 12 April 2012 uncovered evidence that women are being sterilised, often without their knowledge, in an effort by the government to control the population.

Suicide

Self-immolation [setting one’s self on fire] is a common form of suicide among women in Uzbekistan. In 2001 it was estimated that approximately 500 women a year kill themselves because of abusive situations.

Uzbekistan

Coordinates: 41°N 69°E / 41°N 69°E / 41; 69

Uzbekistan (US ⁱ/ʊz.ˈbɛk.ɪ.ˌstæn/, UK /ʊz.ˌbɛk.ɪ.ˈstɑːn/), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan (Uzbek: Oʻzbekiston Respublikasi/Ўзбекистон Республикаси), is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia. It is a unitary, constitutional, presidential republic, comprising 12 provinces, 1 autonomous republic, and 1 capital city. Uzbekistan is bordered by five countries: Kazakhstan to the north; Tajikistan to the southeast; Kyrgyzstan to the northeast; Afghanistan to the south; and Turkmenistan to the southwest.

Once part of the Turkic Khaganate and later Timurid Empires, the region that today includes the Republic of Uzbekistan was conquered in the early 16th century by Eastern Turkic-speaking nomads. The area was gradually incorporated into the Russian Empire during the 19th century, and in 1924 what is now Uzbekistan became a bordered constituent republic of the Soviet Union, known as the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR). Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, it declared independence as the Republic of Uzbekistan on 31 August 1991 (officially celebrated the following day).

Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva

Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva (born July 3, 1978) is an Uzbek diplomat and philanthropist. She is the younger daughter of Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov and his wife, Tatyana Akbarovna Karimova. Her older sister is Uzbek diplomat and business mogul Gulnara Karimova.

Personal life

Karimova-Tillyaeva earned bachelor's and master's degrees in International Law from the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Tashkent, and later received a doctorate degree in Psychology from Tashkent State University. In January 2008 she was appointed to her current role as Uzbekistan's Permanent Delegate to UNESCO. She is married to businessman Timur Tillyaev and they have three children: two daughters and a son (Mariam, Safia and Umar).

In July 2013, various media outlets reported that Karimova-Tillyaeva had purchased a home in Beverly Hills.

In an interview with the BBC Uzbek Service in 2013, Karimova-Tillyaeva stated that she had not been in contact with her sister Gulnara for 12 years and that "There are no family or friendly relations between us...We are completely different people."