As part of a five-year plan to increase the country's ‘food security’, the Uzbek government has issued new regulations requiring citizens and businesses to take ambitious steps to reduce the enormous accumulation of food waste. But as everywhere in Central Asia, the effective implementation of this “revolution” imposed from above remains to be seen.
The case of a 15-year-old boy who died in Tajikistan as a result of “exemplary corporal punishment” inflicted by his father has reignited the spotlight on the issue of domestic violence. According to some data, 60% of children under the age of 14 in the country are victims of domestic violence. And despite the prohibitions introduced by law, the problem is exacerbated today by ‘demonstration videos’ sent to relatives or uploaded to social networks in search of social approval.
Of the five countries, only Turkmenistan is not a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), in keeping with its traditional international neutrality, but President Serdar Berdymukhamedov was nevertheless present at the parade in Beijing. Trade between the region and China grew by 5% last year and will soon exceed 0 billion. Russia is now forced to play a secondary role.
It is increasingly difficult for residents to move, with central streets cleared waiting for the motorcades to pass, while cars are lined up in columns on the side streets. Citizens are forced to walk in the scorching heat. In Tashkent, the ‘clean-up’ of the city center can take ‘extreme’ forms, with armored vehicles opening fire on cars that block the way.
The five countries in the region are increasing their purchases of these devices, which are increasingly used in conflicts, from Turkey, China, Russia, and Iran, and are opening their own production lines in agreement with foreign partners. Suspicions of triangulation that would allow Russia to be supplied while circumventing sanctions.
Over the last five years, enrolment numbers have halved, while Uzbekistan's state universities continue to lose ground to private and foreign institutions. Only enrolment fees continue to rise.
