According to the World Health Organization, more than 25 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 experience physical or sexual violence during their lifetime. 33 per cent of these violent incidents occur in the South-East Asia region. 

It should be noted that General Prosecutor's Office stated in its report that in 2020 cases of violence against women increased by 27.7 per cent. This is very sad ... It is hard to imagine how many broken lives, tarnished honor and dignity are behind these numbers.

The analysis of the appeals sent to the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights (Ombudsman) shows that until April 15, 2021, about 20 appeals about sexual and physical violence and mental harassment were submitted by women. Most of them belong to the Surkhandarya and Kashkadarya regions.

In particular, citizen M.M. In 2013, she married a young man from Surkhandarya and gave birth to 2 children. In her appeal, she wrote that her husband had subjected her to constant torture, psychological and physical pressure for many years, and asked for help to take appropriate measures against her husband and obtain a protection warrant.

The Ombudsman considered the appeal and studied it together with the Main Department for Combating Crime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan. As a result, on February 10, 2021, citizen M.M. received a Protection Order “For Women Victims of Harassment and Violence.” It is sad to receive such appeals from women in a country where they are valued.

It is known that in accordance with Article No. 3 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, to which the Republic of Uzbekistan joined in 1995, the participating States ensure the full development and progress of all women, in particular, in political, social, economic and cultural spheres, take all the necessary measures, including legislative ones, and today this is implemented in our legislation.

First of all, our national legislation adopted the Constitution, as well as special laws guaranteeing the rights of women in accordance with international standards, as well as a number of normative legal acts. In particular, the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On guarantees of equal rights and opportunities for women and men" provide guarantees of non-discrimination on the basis of sex and equal rights and opportunities for women and men.

In addition, the Law on the Protection of Women from Oppression and Violence contains norms related to ensuring the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of women, protecting them from oppression and violence.

It should be noted that the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On measures to improve the system of protecting women from harassment and violence" approved Act No. 3 from January 4, 2020 "On the issuance of an order to protect women victims of harassment and violence." 

This Act contains the procedure for the protection of women who have been victims of harassment and / or violence, and imposes a number of restrictions and prohibitions on persons who have committed violence, in order to prevent repeated cases.

While there are so many legal mechanisms in our country to protect the rights of women, it is unfortunate that they are being mistreated. We call on everyone, including journalists and bloggers, who are close to the people and talk about their problems, to fight the above cases and express our readiness to cooperate with them.

We all need to remember! All women are under the protection of the state. Nobody has the right to insult them, violate their rights and limit their freedom!

Press service of the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights (Ombudsman)