Turkmenistan remains one of the most cut off countries to the rest of the world and because of this, there is a lot of unexplored and undisclosed information towards the gender wage gap in Turkmenistan. However, one can use the data that is available to gauge a better understanding of what the current situation may be and what the next steps are.

About the Gender Wage Gap in Turkmenistan

According to the Government of Turkmenistan’s 2022 Census, both men and women share similar employment and economic status within the country. This census did not measure the gender wage gap in Turkmenistan. Considering that, many Turkmen questioned the validity of this official data, believing that the government altered figures to meet the outward image of the country they were portraying.

However, one can use some of the other known laws Turkmenistan has in place to paint an image of the view that Turkmenistan society holds of women. Human Rights Watch reports that the country holds tight control over its civilians’ rights including restrictions on women and girls. The country’s schooling promotes abstinence with a lack of sexual education, domestic violence is not illegal and there are reports of authorities enforcing informal dress codes for women in the capital, Ashgabat. Additionally, reports alleged that authorities would threaten women’s dismissals if they did not follow the dress codes.

The Women of Cotton Picking

Agriculture is an important aspect of Turkmenistan’s GDP, with cotton farms being a large part of that. The International Labor Organization (ILO) conducted an observation of this industry and found that more than 90% of the cotton pickers were women. The ILO’s observation also found that these workers were often underpaid and the majority of which did not have written contracts.

Additionally, the ILO also found an element of forced mobilization within the industry. Around 12% of public employees participated in cotton picking during harvest season despite their original positions being that of cleaners, teachers or nurses. Workers reported that they could face consequences for refusing to help with cotton picking hence why the ILO was concerned that this work was forced. This presents evidence of a female dominated industry facing unfair compensation and working conditions.

The Turkmenistan Government did formally agree to improve this after the publication of ILO’s report. It increased the number of labor inspections occurring which resulted in the discovery of 2,269 violations and repercussions for those businesses. While this increase was not sufficient in covering the country’s full labor force, it does show the country taking action after the intervention of external organizations.

Obstacles for Turkmen Gender Equality

Currently, two aspects are guarding the steps towards uncovering the gender wage gap in Turkmenistan. The first is whether or not people can trust the statistics that the government is presenting and the second is the fears Turkmens may experience towards speaking out.

It is considered an act of treason in Turkmenistan to oppose the current government, and many activists and independent journalists have faced imprisonment or disappearances for doing so. There are Trade Unions, but the state appoints the leaders and so members may not be comfortable speaking freely about right violations.

Solutions

Pressures from external sources have the potential to make a bigger difference. After the ILO report, the Turkmenistan government did make changes to its labor regulations and there are other organizations that have been in contact with Turkmens to find out their reality.

The Turkmen Helsinki Foundation works with Turkmens living in and outside of the country, conducting interviews of people’s real lives. It has claimed that the gender wage gap in Turkmenistan is closer to 23% based on testimonies of civilians.

The United Nations (UN) reported that Turkmenistan still has a lot of work to do in terms of its legal frameworks in ensuring the achievement of gender equality and the country did sign onto the UN Development Programmes’ Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025 which allowed the UN to work directly with the Turkmenistan government to make gender equality a priority so that both men and women had the same opportunities. The Programme in Turkmenistan received a BRONZE level Gender Equality Seal for reaching important milestone to progress gender equality in the Turkmen workplace.

Looking Ahead

There are still lots of missing figures and the gender wage gap in Turkmenistan is yet to be released in official government statistics. However, due to external pressure from Turkmen based organizations, the UN and the ILO, Turkmenistan is making slow progress to not only uphold the equal rights of women in the country but also to make its violations and progress more visible to the outside world.

– Alice Dunn

Alice is based in Falkirk, UK and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr