Women in Surkhandarya mobilized for cotton picking ahead of Deputy Minister’s visit (video)

Reports have circulated on social media alleging that Nigora Jumayeva, Deputy Governor of Kumkurgan district in Surkhandarya region and Head of the Department for Family and Women’s Affairs, forced women into labor, specifically cotton picking. Audio recordings attached to these reports reveal the deputy governor demanding that each women’s activist bring at least two women with them to the cotton fields.

’’Tomorrow morning, starting from 7:00 am, every activist must bring at least two women with them to the cotton fields. We will meet with the women from urban neighborhoods at 6:30 am. The bus will be there. By 6:30 am, everyone must be on their way to the fields. Deputy Prime Minister Mahkamova is expected to arrive at 9:00 am, so by then, everything must be prepared, cleaned, and the pickers must already be working in the fields.

Do not make excuses like I cannot bring anyone or I had other things to do. Deputy Prime Minister Mahkamova is coming; this is not a joke. Everyone should take this seriously and act responsibly. You must all come in the morning and organize the work as instructed. Everyone must be in the fields by 7:00 am, do not be dragging around at 8:00,’’ said Nigora Jumayeva.

In response to the situation, the Kumkurgan district administration issued a statement saying that the women who participated in the cotton harvest did so ’’voluntarily’’ and of their own free will.

According to the administration, on September 22 of this year, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Committee on family and women’s affairs Zulaykho Mahkamova visited the Kumkurgan district to review the ongoing efforts aimed at ’’ensuring women’s employment and transforming the area into one free from unemployment.’’

As part of her visit, an event titled ’’My labor – my pride’’ was organized at the ’’Munchoktepa Istiqboli’’ farming enterprise in the Munchoktepa neighborhood. Alongside women activists, female cotton pickers also took part in the event. It was stated that their participation in the event was entirely voluntary.

’’The audio recording features Jumayeva instructing community activists to responsibly organize the event and ensure that the volunteer women participating in the cotton harvest are present in the field at the designated time. However, interpreting this instruction as an instance of forced labor is completely unfounded,’’ the statement said.

It is worth noting that earlier, the Ministry of Poverty Reduction and Employment reported that during a monitoring conducted between September 10 and 20 of this year, 11 cases of labor law violations were identified. Disciplinary measures were taken against officials under Article 49 of the Administrative Responsibility Code (violation of labor and occupational safety legislation). Additionally, three officials who allowed the use of forced labor were held accountable under part 1 of Article 51 (administrative coercion to work) of the same Code.