Librarians in Bukhara allegedly forced to pick cotton, management denies claims

QALAMPIR.UZ received a complaint alleging that employees of the Abu Ali ibn Sino Information and Library Center in the Bukhara region were subjected to forced labor, specifically in cotton harvesting. The editorial office was also provided with information suggesting that the employees had indeed been involved in picking cotton.

According to the information provided, 32 employees of the Abu Ali ibn Sino Information and Library Center in Bukhara city, Bukhara region, harvested 1,503 kilograms of cotton on a farm in the Bukhara district on October 5 of this year. The complainant also stated that they contacted the Ministry of Labor’s hotline about the incident but were informed that their application would not be accepted anonymously.

QALAMPIR.UZ reached out to the information and library center for clarification. The center’s administration submitted a letter of consent signed by the employees, stating that they had gone to pick cotton voluntarily in order to earn additional income. However, the amount of money they received for the cotton they collected was not disclosed.

It is worth noting that earlier there were reports that Nigora Jumaeva, Deputy Khokim of the Kumkurgan district in the Surkhandarya region and head of the Department of Family and Women, had recruited women for forced labor, namely cotton picking. The Kumkurgan district khokim responded to the situation, stating that the women who picked cotton did so “voluntarily” and agreed to it “of their own free will.”