‘Maqaal’ is a feminist research collective. Although we come from the various parts of Uzbekistan with diverse backgrounds, what unites us is our aim to connect women* from across the country in speaking up our experiences as a way of collectively rethinking and reimagining our past, present and future through decolonial approach to field research, oral history, and collaborative cultural practices.

Our group is a reaction to the lack of feminist initiatives in the Uzbek language across the country. We want to bring more voices of Uzbek-speaking women* from the regions to the relevant for us discourses by actively engaging them without imposing non-contextual Western feminist approaches. 

This is our journey towards tolerance and solidarity. We have various ethnic, gender and religious identities within the collective. We represent diverse fields: entrepreneurship, data science, filmmaking, marketing, political science. We’re learning to cherish these distinctions in us and standing for feminism taking different forms.

‘Maqaal’ is an attempt to build an open horizontal space for women’s* resistance to the hierarchical power dynamics in the post- and neocolonial realities of Uzbekistan. We are against various forms of oppression based on class, ethnicity, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation education, physical and mental needs and occupation.

Referring to the idea ‘nothing about us without us’, this platform is a tool for self-preservation and self-representation as women* living on the territory of Uzbekistan.