Abstract

This article delves into the Jadidist movement's influence on women's rights and gender equality within Uzbekistan, emphasizing the pivotal role of enlightened women in societal development. Through the lens of the Jadids' mantra of "Freedom, equality, justice," this study examines their educational endeavors aimed at fostering intellectual growth, political literacy, and a heightened sense of legal consciousness among women. The research reveals a congruence between Jadidist ideals and the aspirations of the New Uzbekistan, highlighting their mutual commitment to societal progress. Employing qualitative analysis, this study elucidates the transformative impact of the Jadidist movement on women's political culture and participation. The findings underscore the significance of aligning progressive ideologies with policy frameworks for advancing gender equality and social development in Uzbekistan and beyond

Highlights:

• The Jadidist movement in Uzbekistan promotes women's rights and gender equality through education and political activism.
• Enlightened women play a crucial role in advancing societal development within the Jadidist framework.
• Alignment between Jadidist ideals and the goals of the New Uzbekistan signifies a promising avenue for enhancing gender equality and political participation.

Keywords: Modern, Progressive, Society, Women, Education

Introduction

It is known that the main motto of Jadids is "Freedom, equality, justice", and under this motto, they carry out an educational task that helps to develop a person's mental maturity, learn political norms, values, legal consciousness, and interest in political life. In their programs of action, they included equalizing the rights of women with men and changing their spiritual and educational image among the important tasks. They strove for women to have equal rights with men in performing worldly work in public life, to ensure that there was no difference between them, and that rights and obligations were equal. In the views of the progressive modernists, the lack of enlightenment related to the social life of women, which is an obstacle to the development of society, and the guidelines for ending the feudal-patriarchal relations preserved from the Middle Ages were expressed. They protested against norms that degraded the human dignity of women. In particular, they put forward the need to create conditions for women to realize their femininity rights, to become equal members of society, and to use the possibilities of religious and secular knowledge. As the ancients recognized: ".....A woman is the most respected person. He should be given freedom, he should be given the opportunity to get information, he should enjoy material and spiritual blessings. Shariah does not prohibit a woman from getting information, on the contrary, it commands" [1]. In this regard, the Jadids specifically noted the need for the development of society, first of all, to educate women, that is, to involve them in the field of education.

At this point, it is appropriate to quote the opinion of Saida Mirziyoeva, assistant to the Prezident: "We want to apply the ideas of the moderns on education in life....Especially, the creation of wide opportunities for women's education has become one of the main directions of the president's policy. As Fitrat said: "... Uzbek women are the mothers of the nation. They should receive education, knowledge, and improve their morals and knowledge." This determines the relevance of the topic.

Methods

The problem raised in the article, i.e. the issues of women's rights and gender equality in the Jadidism movement, is analyzed based on approaches such as scientificity, objectivity, historicity, and systematicity. The topic was studied by historians such as D.Alimova, S.Agzamkhozhaev, Ya.Abdullaeva, N.Mustafaeva, D.Radjabova.

Results and DIscussion

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the advancement of the idea of gender equality by the Jadidist movement became important in Turkestan. Jadids are supporters of new reforms in all spheres, and in order to eliminate gender inequality, it is an urgent task to deny the feudal values of the middle ages, to get rid of political backwardness, ignorance and ignorance, and to set the right of women to education in order to lead the nation to the path of development[2]. Although the legal equality of men and women in all spheres of social life was included in the constitution of the Turkestan ASSR in October 1918, the Muslim society living on the basis of Sharia and customary laws considered women only as housewives. In such existing historical conditions, ensuring the equality of women was considered a difficult issue[3]. That is why, one of the first measures to involve women in social life by the Jadids was to involve them in education as a necessary condition for achieving equal rights of men and women. The Jadids first of all paid attention to the issues of spiritual renewal, and considered that this process should begin with family, marriage, culture, children's education, and woman's enlightenment. Therefore, they believed that the most important life issues to be solved are related to women, who make up half of the society. At the same time, they take into account that the unique situation of women in Turkestan is determined by the traditions and Muslim laws that have been going on for many centuries, they propose to save the best of them, and to solve this problem based on the western and eastern experience, and from the combined educational approaches. encouraged to use. It is worth noting that the Jadids were not limited to the national sphere. They widely promoted and promoted the scientific and cultural achievements of other countries and peoples in the press. Therefore, one of the most important issues, such as the Jadidist ideas of religious reform and cultural-educational reforms, was the issue of women's freedom. Although solving this problem was raised as an important social issue by the enlightened moderns in the second half of the 19th century, due to the influence of reactionary forces, the traditions aimed at preserving the rights of women were preserved as law. The ancients were well aware that arbitrariness, oppression, injustice, ignorance, and violence, which prevails in an unenlightened society, find their expression faster and more fully in the lives of women. Therefore, good works such as enlightening women, increasing their social activity, and using their talents and abilities have been noticed by Jadids. This shows that the rise of women's issues should be considered as a legitimate issue.

The progressives of the Uzbek people, such as Munavvar Qori, M. Behbudi, A. Qadiri, H.H. Niyozi, A. Fitrat, A. Cholpon, defended the rights of women and put forward the idea of their equality in their works. In particular, Munavvarqori writes: "...I have been working for a long time to liberate women much faster, train them in schools on the basis of equality with men and involve them in work, using various methods to equalize their rights with men"[4].

The activity of enlightened women who raised the issues of women's rights and their equality in the Jadidism movement became important in Turkestan. In particular, Sora Muzaffaria wrote in the article "The fault is with us" that "we have both talent and ability. There is also consciousness and thought. "There is a power that cannot be replaced not only by a single house, but also by countries," [5] he writes. The author of the article encourages Uzbek women to abandon the old way of life, which prevents them from working in society on equal terms with men, like European women, and strive for a new free life. Sora Muzaffaria encouraged women to become socially active, saying, "O Turkish wife! Our people have given us a healthy mind and innate talents and abilities! Who has the right to prevent him from being born!" he writes in his article. In fact, the essence of the Jadid ideology was to lead the people, including women, towards independence through enlightenment, knowledge, and literacy, and to give up some traditions that lead them to limitations. Jadids promoted the ideas of religious and secular enlightenment in opposition to Muslim bigotry.

The Jadids opposed the oppression of women and recognized their individuality while protecting women. In particular, Mahmudhoja Behbudi said: "A woman is a person related to humanity. A woman gave birth to sages, brought them up and raised them to the level of great personalities" [6].

Z. Fathiddinzoda wrote in his article in "Sadoi Turkistan" newspaper: "We may not be wrong if we say that the livelihood of the whole human world comes from the shadow of single wives. Women are the mothers of the whole world's humanity: prophets, messengers, kings, scientists, writers and poets are all the children of these honorable parents. .. The religion of Islam is to give the same rights to the wives as it gave to the husbands, and to establish the law of equality and justice among all people" [7], he emphasized.

Abdulla Avloni in his unfinished poem called "Two Loves" put forward the issue of women of that time and said, "...a woman is very active. He sacrifices his life for the sake of freedom," he says [8].

Judging from the incomparable position of women in the history of mankind and the fact that the main foundation of society is the family, "without accepting women as full-blooded members of society, without properly solving the family issue, without raising the young generation in the right way, it is possible to reform the society and direct its development towards development. not, in the end, the fate of the nation depends on the state of its women and family[9]", and during their actions, they fought to implement the following ideas:

- by determining the place of women in the family, increasing their status in society;

- to change the existing negative attitude towards women based on their position in society, in particular, a new approach to marriage, polygamy, inheritance and similar issues, etc.

- taking into account the responsible role of women in the social, moral and labor education of the young generation for the future, this includes creating opportunities and conditions for them to become educated.

Jadids advocated that women have equal rights with men in the development of the country and actively participate in religious and worldly affairs for the development of society, and considered women, family, and society issues as universal human problems. They defined the following main directions in solving them:

- changing the negative attitude towards women, since the cultural and spiritual level of any society is determined by the attitude towards women;

- ensuring equal rights of women in religious and secular affairs;

- changing the spiritual image of women by involving them in education;

- special emphasis on the role of an enlightened woman in youth education and family matters;

- based on this point of view, fight against any spiritual backwardness, clannishness, religious ignorance in social life;

- involving women in political life, fighting for their rights to participate in state and community affairs, etc. [10].

The dreams of the progressive moderns about the equal rights of women with men, the role of women in raising children, and the sanctity of the family came true in the years of independence. In the years of independence, strengthening the economic base of the family and increasing its importance in the field of education became an issue at the level of state policy. Because the strengthening of independence depends on how well the moral image of the mature generation is formed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Jadids justified the importance of reforming the field of education in order to increase the level of political and legal literacy of women. Their demonstration of scientific and theoretical foundations in involving women in cultural and educational processes became an important factor in women's all-round development and securing their position in the family and society. As a result of the integration of women into the development process, the effectiveness of the development of society has increased.

References

1. N Farxodjonova, "Jadid Movement," [Online]. Available: http://jadid.my1.ru/publ/1-1-0-10. [Accessed: Feb. 24, 2024].
2. R. Sharipov, "Enlighteners in Turkestan and Ismail Gaspirali," State and Law, vol. 2000, no. 2, pp. 52-53, 2000.
3. D. Dostmuhamedova, "History and Gender," Social Thought: Human Rights, no. 3 (31), p. 164, 2005.
4. A. Munavvargori Abdurashidkhanov, "From My Memories: Snapshots from the History of Jadidchilik."
5. S. Muzaffaria, "We Are to Blame," Sadoi Turkestan, Aug. 23, 1914.
6. N Farxodjonova, "Jadid Movement," [Online]. Available: http://jadid.my1.ru/publ/1-1-0-10. [Accessed: Feb. 24, 2024].
7. F. Nisvan, "Legal Nisvan," Sadoi Turkestan, Nov. 12, 1914.
8. D. Dostmuhamedova, "History and Gender," Social Thought: Human Rights, no. 3 (31), p. 164, 2005.
9. M. Behbudiy, "New History of Uzbekistan: Uzbekistan During Soviet Colonialism," 2nd ed., Tashkent: East, 2000, p. 375, "Health of the Family," Oyna, 1914, nos. 48-50.
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