TASHKENT  -  Saodat Shermatova “cried with joy” after Uzbekistan, a predomi­nantly Muslim former Soviet republic, lifted a ban last month on women working as bus drivers. “I was waiting a long time,” said the 49-year-old, who used to work in public trans­port maintenance in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent. Shermatova now drives the number 51, an elec­tric bus, around Tash­kent -- the biggest city in Central Asia with a pop­ulation of three million.

She said her husband, also a bus driver, was concerned at first but has given her “full sup­port” although he “tells me every day to be care­ful”. Seeing a woman bus driver is an unusual sight in Uzbekistan -- a highly patriarchal coun­try of around 35 million people. “At first, a lot of people looked at me in shock. Some men asked me if it wasn’t too dif­ficult for me. Others stayed silent but looked disapproving,” she said. “But I’m not worried. I receive a lot more en­couragement and con­gratulations.”

- PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY -

Before she started driv­ing the 51, Shermatova trained for several days with her 69-year-old colleague, Makhmud Mislimov. “It’s a very good thing that women are allowed to drive bus­es, particularly since the vehicles are now more practical and less heavy than in Soviet times,” said Mislimov.

He said women used to drive buses in the So­viet era under certain conditions. Across Cen­tral Asia, independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 led to a much more conservative atti­tude to the role of wom­en in society. There had been greater equality between the sexes un­der Communism.

Women in Central Aisa are still barred from many profes­sions, including the raw materials sector.

“In Uzbekistan, it was forbidden for women to drive trucks of more than 2.5 tonnes and vehicles carrying more than 14 people,” said transport ministry spokesman Nodir Khu­doiberdiyev. “The gov­ernment lifted these restrictions to allow women to work.” The reform is in line with the gradual liberalisa­tion seen under Presi­dent Shavkat Mirzi­yoyev, who has been in charge of a tightly controlled regime with no real political oppo­sition since 2016.

- ‘EXAMPLE FOR UZBEK WOMEN’ -

In another important reform, the Uzbek parliament has voted through a law impos­ing a 40-percent quota of female candidates in parliamentary elec­tions. It is an attempt to balance out a political scene in which women are largely absent ex­cept for the powerful Saida Mirziyoyeva, the president’s daughter.

The United Nations noted in a report in 2020 that, while the Uzbek government was taking steps towards tackling inequality, there was little change in the daily lives of most women. But that may be changing. Nar­giza Gadoyeva, so far Uzbekistan’s only oth­er female bus driver, said she jumped at the chance of a new role.