The current study investigates the confluence of Islamic Discourses with women’s participation in Higher Education in Uzbekistan. There is a growing gender disparity in participation in higher education in Uzbekistan where female students comprise only thirty-one percent of the total student body while male students make up the rest. This research considers the religious aspects of this gender disparity through analyses of public and private discourses in the form of books, including public school textbooks, social media materials, and other publications. Qualitative in nature, the present work argues that such discourses have a role in the emergence of a gender disparity in higher educational participation in Uzbekistan. The research project will be of use to policymakers, female students, and their parents with regards to women’s higher education as it offers policy suggestions, and alternative discourses on encountering Islamic discourses that propose opposing views on women’s participation in higher education. The study also considers diversity of views from local sources on the matter at hand. The project outcomes will appear as a book chapter, and an essay in English and Uzbek for wider audience in Uzbekistan and elsewhere.
Research Projects
