Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 3-4 December 2019, a seminar on the theme “Strategy for achieving gender equality for 2020-2030” was held in Tashkent, organized by the Commission on Gender Equality of the Republic of Uzbekistan in cooperation with the UNDP office in Uzbekistan.

The event was attended by members of the working group on the development of national action plans, strategies and draft state programs to ensure equal rights and opportunities for men and women in the Republic of Uzbekistan, experts and representatives of international organizations.

The aim of the seminar was to increase the knowledge and awareness of participants on issues of gender equality, the situation in the country, in the field of national legislation, international obligations, and documents on issues of gender equality and women’s rights. Along with this, the task was to form working groups in the priority areas of the Strategy - 2020-2030, such as Gender equality in socio-political life, in the economy, employment, labor migration, education; prevention of violence and human trafficking, and others.

The seminar program covers a wide range of issues related to the empowerment of women by increasing their economic and political activity in various sectors. In particular, speaking about the main challenges and prospects for further ensuring gender equality in the country, the participants provided statistical data that testify to the commitment of the Government of Uzbekistan to achieve the development goals. In particular, it was noted that Uzbekistan ranked 105th out of 185 countries in the 2016 UNDP Report on the Human Development Index, which puts it in the category of countries with a high level of human development.

In the Gender Equality Index, Uzbekistan ranks 57th out of 188 countries - this indicator is due to the high level of education and economic activity of women. As a result of the ongoing work, Uzbekistan is approaching gender equality in education and healthcare. So, in normative legal acts measures are defined to radically improve activities in the field of support for women and strengthen the institution of the family. At the same time, it was noted at the meeting, in the field of ensuring gender equality the most important tasks lie ahead, the implementation of which is closely connected with the development of specific national action plans and strategies. In this regard, the seminar examined in detail the role of ministries and departments in the development of the National Strategy, its format and priority areas.

As a result of the seminar, the principles, rules and procedures for the further work of the working group to develop national action plans, strategies and draft state programs to ensure equal rights and opportunities for men and women in the Republic of Uzbekistan were formulated.