Copyright daryo
UN Women and ACWA Power Uzbekistan have signed an agreement to advance women’s empowerment, marking the first collaboration of its kind between a UN agency and a private company in Uzbekistan. Under the 12-month partnership, ACWA Power will contribute $50,000 to support initiatives under the UN Women's Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) programme. The collaboration aims to increase women’s participation in education and the workforce through gender equality training, leadership development, and the creation of a pilot Gender Equality Curriculum at Shirin College. It will also include capacity-building on gender-based violence prevention and a national Women’s Empowerment Forum. Launched in Uzbekistan in May 2025, UN Women will provide technical expertise and training, while ACWA Power, the country’s largest investor in renewable energy, will oversee funding and implementation. Dr. Jon Zaidi, Country General Manager of ACWA Power Uzbekistan, highlighted that partnering with UN Women will help strengthen workplaces, expand opportunities, and increase the participation of women in Uzbekistan. “By investing in training, curricula, and leadership development, we aim to embed practices that benefit institutions, companies, and communities alike.” Ceren Guven Gures, Head of the UN Women Central Asia Liaison Office and Representative of the UN Women Kazakhstan Country Office, emphasized the broader impact of private sector engagement. “With ACWA Power’s support, we will expand opportunities for women and strengthen protections in education and the workplace,” she said. ACWA Power is a Saudi-listed company and a global leader in energy and water solutions, with over 4,000 employees across 15 countries. In Uzbekistan, it is the largest renewable energy investor, with a portfolio exceeding $15bn, spanning wind, solar, energy storage, and green hydrogen projects. The initiative aligns with Uzbekistan’s national reform priorities, including the Strategy for Achieving Gender Equality until 2030 and the National Programme for Increasing the Activity of Women in Economic, Political, and Social Life (2022–2026), which aim to ensure equal opportunities and greater representation for women in education, governance, and the economy. In an interview with Daryo, Gures highlighted the importance of community involvement in achieving gender equality. “Gender equality is not just about women and girls; it’s about equity between women and men, girls and boys. And it's also very important to make a proper definition of feminism. Feminism is not taking the rights of men and giving it to women. The role of men is very important because culture, stereotypes, and social norms can create blind spots. We were born equal. We were born equal, that's why it's very important to work with men to even voice up more than women about gender equality at all levels. At decision making, at society, at business, everywhere,” she said. She also emphasized the initiative’s connection to the Sustainable Development Goals. “This cooperation is cross-cutting across all 17 SDGs, not only about SDG 5 [gender equality] or SDG 8 [decent work and economic growth]. Because it's about empowerment, it's about eradicating poverty, it's about sustainable cities, it's about eradicating hunger, it's about eradicating the impacts of climate change. We are trying to transform not only ACWA Power, we are also trying to transform the society that they operate in and also attracting other companies to be part of this. We are falling behind with the SDG, especially on SDG 5. There is no country on earth that ticks all the boxes when it comes to gender equality indicators.That's why we need to think out of the box, that's why we need to work more with the private sector and transform results faster than it used to be,” Gures noted. This agreement highlights the evolving relationship between international organizations and the private sector, demonstrating how strategic partnerships can accelerate reform and drive meaningful change in Uzbekistan. UN Women works to advance women’s rights, gender equality, and the empowerment of all women and girls. As the lead UN entity on gender equality, it drives legal, institutional, and social change to close the gender gap.
