Women's Empowerment and Reproductive Rights in Uzbekistan

The existing studies on Uzbek women suggest that they have little knowledge about their reproductive health and rights. Since the Soviet Union collapsed, the status of Uzbek women has been adversely affected by revived social traditions. It became difficult for women to practice their reproductive rights as a result of invigorated ideology of gender roles that increased responsibilities of women in the household and in family reproduction. This research found that Uzbek women possess a high level of knowledge of their reproductive rights. However, Uzbek women are more likely to practice their reproductive rights if they also possess social and economic empowerment. Also, women's educational attainment mediates the relationship between women's empowerment and the application of their chosen reproductive rights. These findings are based on tested hypotheses using quantitative analyses to examine the relationship between empowerment and reproductive rights. The data was obtained from the Uzbekistan Health Examination Survey collected by Demographic Health Surveys in 2002. The sample was composed of 5,463 women aged 15-46.