In Uzbekistan, young women learn to counter gendered disinformation

The storied Silk Road weaves through Uzbekistan in Central Asia, a country that can also claim a culture dating back at least to the first millennium BC. But the region Vasila Norbekova lives in – Syrdarya – is comparatively young. Uzbeks migrated to this arid, mountainous region in the 1960s in a national effort to populate and urbanize it. 

As such, Syrdarya is a blend of various Uzbek traditions and beliefs, which at times can lead to disagreement, according to Norbekova. 

"Which," she explained, "can create a lot of conflict and issues in daily life. One example is how even marriages are understood." 

Norbekova voiced these thoughts recently while near Tashkent, the Uzbek capital, where she took part in a workshop with Uzbek youth organizations. The goal was to explore how media skills can help spur public discourse on gender relations, a woman's choice of profession, divorce and domestic violence.  

Expertise and practical skills 

Called Tabassum, which means "smile" in Uzbek and is also a common name for women here, these workshops are a new DW Akademie initiative. Working with local partner, the Modern Journalism Development Center (MJDC) in Tashkent, the idea is to help young women, particularly outside the Uzbek capital, hone their expertise and practical skills in media literacy. They practice detecting and responding with counterarguments to online gendered disinformation.  

Tabassum builds on the fact that women in Uzbekistan already participate in public activities, according to Amalia Oganjanyan, Tabassum's DW Akademie project director. 

From left to right: Aisolo Kurbanbaeva, Dilbar Kobilova, Vasila Norbekova, and Saida Qoldasheva. Participating in the Tabassum workshop allowed them to test their media literacy skills and learn new ones that they can pass on.

"But a woman's ability to foster discourse on gender, provide a female perspective, and participate in decision-making for good governance is still limited," Oganjanyan noted. "Tabassum addresses gendered disinformation, which is a global trend also relevant to Uzbekistan." 

Online harassment, she added, drives women away from public engagement. Media skills can arm them with the knowledge of how to research and argue a perspective, or how to oppose a lie or a stereotype. 

"We want these young women to learn how to recognize and counter gender-based disinformation," said Oganjanyan. 

Gulzoda Avazova, whose organization Taksin, supports women escaping domestic violence, expects the need for her services to increase.

Peace and support 

Tabassum brings together 10 youth and women’s organizations from eight Uzbek regions, including Samarkand, Fergana, Navoi, Shakhrisabz and Urgench. The organizations then receive grants of up to €4,000 and have 12 months to build their own campaigns and workshops in the regions where they are located. A media expert mentors the organizers. 

This kind of guidance is exactly what Gulzoda Avazova needs. In 2018, she founded Taskin, or "peace" in Uzbek, in Denau, in the Surkhandarya region, for women escaping domestic violence. Taskin offers both online support and a refuge for the women who simply need peace and legal support. Avazova has some legal training, which she has taught other women, but Taskin's finances need a boost. 

"The need here is huge," she said. "And most of the domestic violence we see has gone unreported. We believe that if more people became aware of Taskin and its legal and mental services, we could be overrun by requests for help."  

Tabassum training and the grant, she said, will help build an online presence and expand Taskin's services. 

"These women who have experienced domestic violence, who have lost their homes, been expelled from their families and cut off from child support are so desperate for help," said Avazova.   

Empowering women 

In Syrdarya, Norbekova shares the sentiment, having endured mental and financial abuse within her own family. She founded the organization Hunar va Hayot in 2022, which helps women living in fear within their homes. Over time, she has come to see that knowledge is power. 

"Once I learned about how common the issue is, and how other women suffer, too, I could look at my situation for what it is," she said. "My relationship with my husband and his family has improved a lot because of this. I've been able to raise my husband's awareness of women's rights by pointing to our daughter. I ask him: Would you like that her future husband treats her badly or suppresses her?" 

She is now working on a questionnaire among women in her region to survey domestic violence incidents.  

"When I heard about Tabassum, I immediately applied," she continued. "I see it as a means to reach and empower more women in our community."  

"EU Tabassum: Media Skills to Promote Gender Equality and Empower Young Women in Uzbekistan" aims to increase the expertise and practical skills necessary for gender constructive reporting, gender disinformation and media campaigning among journalists, youth and women's civic society organizations. The project is funded by the European Union and co-supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It is implemented by DW Akademie and the Modern Journalism Development Center (MJDC) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.