2015”; and the “National Plan for Achieving Gender
Equality in the Kyrgyz Republic, 2002–2006.” In
March 2003 a law outlining government guaran-
tees for the provision of gender equality was
approved. There is ongoing preparation of a
36-hour course on “Basic Theories of Gender
Equality,” which will be obligatory for all students.
Since 2002 Kyrgyzstan has been attempting to inte-
grate gender awareness into the ministries and
other governmental bodies.uzbekistan
Uzbekistan was one of the first Central Asian
countries to take measures to provide equal rights
for men and women. In 1995 Uzbekistan ratified
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), intend-
ing to include these protections in national legisla-
tion. In 1996 the UNDP initiated introductory
workshops on gender awareness. The term “gen-
der” became known and was included in govern-
ment vocabulary. However, gender awareness among
NGOs is much better developed, and since 1996
NGOs have been conducting sociological research
in gender studies. Research has been undertaken on
rural women, on gender in basic textbooks, and on
violence against women. A new course on “Basics
of Gender: Theory and Practice” and a textbook
for high school students was designed. The min-
istry of education approved the course and the text-
book and they will be incorporated into the
humanities curriculum in national universities.Bibliography
Asian Development Bank/Global Security and Coopera-
tion,Gender expertise of basic education textbooks in
Uzbekistan [in English and Russian], (forthcoming).
Association of Businesswomen in Tajikistan,Women in
transition in Tajikistan, i,Women and entrepreneur-
ship, ii, Women’s health problems, iii, Women and the
law, iv, Violence against women[in Russian], Khujant
1998.
Family and children in the Republic of Tajikistan. A sta-
tistical collection[in Russian], Dushanbe 2002.
Gender and culture. Textbook [in Russian], Dushanbe
1999.
Men and women in the Republic of Tajikistan. Statistical
collection [in Russian], Dushanbe 2002.
UNDP,Human development report. Uzbekistan[in Eng-
lish, Russian, and Uzbek], Tashkent 1999.
Status of rural women in transition, in Collected materi-
als UNDP/INTAS/WRC/SABR [in English, Russian,
and Uzbek], Samarkand 2000.
Women in Development, Gender Statistics in the Repub-
lic of Tajikistan[in Russian], Khujant 1998.Dinara Alimdjanova786 women’s studies programs in muslim countries
IranWomen’s studies programs in Iran are of very
recent vintage, developed through a process mostly
guided from above and without effective input
from individuals with expertise in women’s studies
or groups and institutions that have been instru-
mental in pursuing feminist causes. The initial idea
for the establishment of women’s studies programs
was put forth by the Center for Women’s Studies
and Research, which was established in 1986 as
“non-governmental” and yet affiliated to the Min-
istry of Sciences, Research, and Technology to
enhance the integration of women in the state-
guided process of economic development. The pro-
posed programs were initially relatively broad in
scope and breadth and included study of feminism
and women’s movements and issues in all its dimen-
sions throughout the world.
In January 2000, the Supreme Council for
Planning at the Ministry of Sciences, Research, and
Technology approved the plan for a master of arts
program in women’s studies but only allowed for
three specializations within the program: woman
and family, women’s rights in Islam, and women’s
history. The limited scope of the approved subjects
places various universities in the difficult position
of attempting to start programs with state-imposed
guidelines, which many of the interested faculty do
not accept as useful or sufficiently comprehensive.
Given this predicament, the women’s studies pro-
grams in several public universities, three of which
began accepting students for the first time in the
2002/3 academic year, are bound to be evolving as
various faculties within these institutions attempt
to adapt guidelines developed elsewhere to their
own particular needs, resources, and constituency.
Public universities have dealt with the tension
between imposed specializations and their own
resources and needs in different ways. For example,
the College of Humanities at Tarbiat Modarres
University, a teacher training college, has mostly
followed the three main specializations approved
by the Ministry of Sciences, Research and Technol-
ogy, only replacing the specialization in women’s
history with women in development and politics.
The women’s studies program at ≠Allàmah Tabà
tabà±i University, on the other hand, is housed in the
social sciences faculty and has only accepted woman
and family as a specialization. It has also removed
Arabic as a requirement and added courses such as
introductions to women’s studies and women’s
movements to its curriculum. Al-ZahràUniversity,