Women in Uzbekistan are no longer restricted from driving heavy vehicles and buses, according to the Resolution No. 85 of the Cabinet of Ministers approved on February 12.
UNDP stated that this state decision is part of the Accelerating Investments in Low Emission Vehicles (TAILEV) project, a collaboration between UNDP and the Ministry of Transport and financial support from the Global Environment Fund (GEF).
Gazeta.uz has previously covered this project, anticipating the reconstruction of Shota Rustaveli Street in Tashkent with the establishment of a dedicated public transport lane in the road center. The project incorporates a gender-inclusive component — an important one in the work of international organizations.
Nodir Khudayberdyiev, head of the TAILEV project management team, previously shared with Gazeta.uz a story of an Uzbekistani woman who received a category D license to drive a bus in Russia and was further employed as a driver. If similar opportunities were available in Uzbekistan, she would have stayed with her family in her home country, he noted.
“The analysis of the legislation revealed that women (in Uzbekistan) are not allowed to drive vehicles exceeding 2.5 tons load capacity or carrying more than 14 passengers,” the UNDP stated.
This clause was in the Cabinet of Ministers' decree on public transport drivers training No. 408 dated May 31, 2018 (Annex 2, paragraph 27). UNDP commented that the TAILEV project was working on the amendments to this regulation for a year.
The UN body expressed hope that granting women access to bus driving will create more opportunities for women in the transport sector as well as promote equality and sustainable development in the country.
