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Abstract

This paper highlights the intergenerational transformation of gender norms in Uzbekistan by focusing on the shifting identities of women raised during the Soviet era and those coming of age in the post-Soviet Islamic revival. Drawing on oral histories, semi-structured interviews (taken from 40 mothers and their daughters), and authentic materials such as female magazines (Saodat, Guliston), current research work investigates how notions of womanhood, piety, labor, and autonomy have been questioned, inherited, or reinvented between mothers and daughters in society. Women raised under Soviet programs were shaped by concepts of socialist modernity, state feminism, and secular citizenship. In contrast, their daughters are growing up in a social environment increasingly molded by Islam, traditional norms, and neoliberal constraints. This generational distinction raises serious concerns regarding the way individuals live, behave, and form their moral identity. What remained of the Soviet “new woman” in modern-day Uzbekistan? How do women reconcile or oppose inherited expectations in the framework of religious resurgence and national rebirth?

This paper relies on various theories, such as Joan Scott’s notion of gender as a historical category and Saba Mahmood’s theory of pious agency, to explore how women negotiate structural shifts through embodied practice and private memory. It argues that generational dialogue between women is not merely a reflection of change but an active site of cultural production and historical consciousness. By focusing on women’s personal narratives, this study adds to the larger field of gender history by exposing how political transformations are internalized and reshaped in everyday life. It also contributes a Central Eurasian viewpoint to worldwide debates regarding the legacy of state feminism, the growth of religious identities, and the ongoing complexities of women's responsibilities in postcolonial cultures.