Webster Tashkent Hosts Women’s Leadership Dialogue

On March 28, Webster Tashkent hosted a special panel discussion featuring the heads of United Nations agencies’ offices in Uzbekistan. The speakers included Roli Asthana, UN resident coordinator; Ashita Mittal, regional representative of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime; and Doina Munteanu, deputy resident representative of the UN Development Programme.

The discussion was centered on how efforts to improve gender equality around the world are key in achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was moderated by Dilobar Yavmutdinova, the president of the campus Student Government Association and business administration junior.

Yavmutdinova said that she was impressed by what Asthana said about the global discussion on women’s rights, “While answering my question about why women's empowerment should matter, she said we should have already passed this phase. ‘We need to live in a world where women and men are given the same opportunities and where women's empowerment is not discussed because it should be natural and obvious human behavior,’” said Yavmutdinova.

As was noted at the discussion, women and girls are more vulnerable to climate change impacts than men, and at the same time, their involvement in sustainability initiatives results in greater climate action effectiveness. In connection with these issues, the speakers revealed their personal experiences: youthhood, professional challenges, growth as leaders.

Some of the students expressed that they were glad to hear the human-level stories from the UN leaders. “Women feel depressed or face obstacles because of cultural mindsets in many countries. It was an honor for me to meet the female leaders who broke such stereotypes on their way,” said Yavmutdinova.

We need to live in a world where women and men are given the same opportunities...it should be natural and obvious human behavior.

Asthana shared her unique family history, with two grandmothers having never achieved literacy – one for a lack of economic opportunity, the other for a lack of belief that it will be necessary in her life.

The story moved the participants. “It was an honor to get to know such wonderful women," said MBA student Shirin Nazarova. "The words of wisdom of Roli Asthana melted my heart…Life has ups and downs, that’s why it’s important to be kind.”

Yavmutdinova also recalled how one of the speakers encouraged the young women in the audience. “When one of the participants said sorry for the long question, [the speaker’s] reply was the following: ‘Never say sorry for taking the time or taking space in somebody's life. You are human as everyone else here. Whatever is your reason, you deserve the most out of this life,’” said Yavmutdinova.

Watch a television story recording from Yoshlar channel about this event on the campus’ YouTube channel in the window above, or at the link here.