Paper abstract:

Do women suffer just because they are women? Or, do they suffer due to tradition, religion, economic hardships, etc.? Or, is it all because of these factors together? This study aims to examine the “women question” with an intersectional approach in Uzbekistan since single-axis approach is not sufficient to explain the systematic oppression experienced by women. Therefore, with the help of interviews on women’s experiences during the transition period from the USSR to independent Uzbekistan, this study will interpret women’s question with an intersectional approach.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with women who worked in various fields to explore that transition through women’s eyes and works. The fieldwork (33 interviews in Uzbekistan in 2022) included interviews with women who worked from 1985 to 1995 in any business sector in Uzbekistan. The interviews included women who had to leave their academic life and become suitcase traders to take care of their children, women who could not get an education because their husbands did not allow them, women who worked in factories, women who were doctors, teachers, professors, librarians, or women who were coming from an intellectual or wealth family. The interviewees were selected from diverse backgrounds, including Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and Russian women born, educated and working in Andijon and Tashkent provinces.