In Uzbekistan, 42% of young women are not in employment, education, or training — nearly five times more than men at 8.8% (World Bank). This inequality reflects deep-rooted cultural expectations: most young women are pushed toward early marriage and told to focus only on the role of wife and mother. Professional ambition is often dismissed, and entire generations have grown up without visible female role models in careers, science, or leadership.
According to international reports, many young women still dream of self-realization, but believe they can’t. They lack examples that prove otherwise. Without stories of women who broke barriers before them, it is difficult to imagine a different future. The problem is not a lack of talent or ambition, but a lack of belief — both in themselves and from society around them.
To change this, Kotex — with its global SHE CAN philosophy — together with Diyora Keldiyorova, Uzbekistan’s first Olympic champion in a traditionally male sport, launched Birinchilar (The Firsts). We created a series of digital documentary films spotlighting pioneering Uzbek women who became the first in their fields: the first ballerina, the first archaeologist, the first train driver, the first entrepreneur. Through Diyora's voice, who was the host of the series, these women shared struggles and triumphs that proved to a new generation that barriers can be broken.
Launch Date: April 8th