Violence against women in Uzbekistan rises 121% in the first half of the year

In the first half of this year, cases of harassment and violence against women and girls in Uzbekistan increased by 121 percent, according to official data. Following this sharp rise, Malika Kadirkhonova, a member of the Senate Committee on Youth, Women, Culture, and Sports, submitted a senatorial request to Zulaykho Mahkamova, chairwoman of the Committee on Family and Women, the Senate press service reported.

The request concerns the measures being implemented to protect women’s rights and eliminate harassment and violence. Kadirkhonova noted that despite the adoption of laws and the introduction of various measures, incidents of harassment and violence against women have continued to grow in recent years.

According to statistics, 48,303 cases of harassment and violence were recorded nationwide in the first six months of this year, 121 percent more than during the same period last year. The highest number of cases was registered in the Tashkent region (9,414), followed by Bukhara (5,612), Kashkadarya (5,268), and Andijan (4,808). During this period, 930 women received repeated protection orders.

The senator’s request calls on the Committee on Family and Women and its territorial divisions to provide detailed explanations on the measures taken to identify the causes of harassment and violence, strengthen preventive work, enhance cooperation with relevant authorities, and foster an environment of zero tolerance for such acts in local communities.

In a related context, earlier reports revealed that a 15-year-old girl in the city of Angren, Tashkent region, was raped by four young men and hospitalized in a specialized medical facility in Tashkent.

It was also reported that a man in one of the districts of the Tashkent region committed violence against his daughter. The court found him guilty of a serious crime against his child and sentenced him to 12 years in prison.