Festive Congratulation to the Women of Uzbekistan

Dear women!
Lovely daughters!

Today, when the breath of the long-awaited spring is being ever more felt on our blessed soil, it renders me a profound pleasure from the bottom of my heart to congratulate you, the women of Uzbekistan, on the beautiful holiday - the March 8th Day!

It has become a wonderful tradition which has taken a deep root in the life of our people to celebrate this day with awakening of spring, express one’s most best, bright and innermost feelings to women as the miraculous creation of nature, to our mothers, sisters, daughters, and granddaughters, who, it can be said without exaggeration, personify the essence and beauty of our life.

During these days time and again we all experience the strong feeling of an irredeemable debt before the noble and sacred image of mother who has granted life to all of us and devoted her entire self to upbringing the children.

Let us remember how many great poets and thinkers have glorified the boundless hearty generosity and love, tenderness, beauty and loyalty of woman, have composed the wonderful verses and poems to women on whose delicate shoulders are kept the peace and accord in family, well being and mutual understanding in society. These wonderful images, firstly, the bright and unrepeatable images of a womanly beauty and devotion poetized by the great Alisher Navoi are now embodied in our contemporary women.

Thanks to their knowledge and talent, their firmness of purpose today our women, mothers, sisters and daughters fruitfully work in wide variety of spheres - in the field of state and public governance, in medicine, education, culture, science and production, they represent the class of farmers and entrepreneurs who are occupying an ever bigger place in the country’s life.

Since the early days of obtaining independence the tasks of increasing the public and political activeness, spiritual and intellectual potential of women, strengthening their health, protection of family, motherhood and childhood have been defined as priority. And we are all becoming glad that the work to realize those tasks today has already been giving its tangible results.

I believe that the announcement of 2008 as the Year of Youth in our country is yet another important step on the way to realize the hopes and aspirations of parents who see the essence of their lives in the happy future of their children.

Today we are setting the issue of an extraordinary significance - to resolve the problem of young families, create the worthy housing, social and living conditions for them, allot them the funds and credits to equip housing and many others, where it is difficult to do without a specific assistance of state and society.

It is very important so that all necessary and favorable conditions are created in young families to ensure that a comprehensively healthy child is born and in the future he becomes the pride of not only this family but also of our entire society.

Dear compatriots!

Today, when we have set a high goal before us - to secure the worthy place in the world community, establish a strong democratic civil society that is second to none, we need to fully abandon the stereotypes and remains of the past which hinder the onward advancement. It is of an enormous importance to further consolidate our work on strengthening the respect in the consciousnesses of people towards both national and universal values, nourishing the conviction to live in full accord with contemporary universally accepted requirements and objectives.

We need to continue and deepen our legislative and practical work to establish conditions in the country for further growth of authority and influence of women in society, for fuller realization of their potential and talent.

Availing myself of this opportunity, I would like to express my special respect and gratitude to You, our dear women, for Your kindness and nobility, for Your irreplaceable role as keepers of family hearth, for Your life firmness and solid belief in tomorrow.

We all should understand the very important and at the same time the simple truth. At this very impetuous and rapidly changing time, regardless of occupation, place in life and age, we must more value one another and we are the men ought to show bigger care for our mothers, wives, sisters and daughters, and not to be shy to tell how we value and love them.

Dear women!

Once again, from the bottom of my heart I congratulate you all on the marvelous spring holiday - the March 8th Day!

Let success, beauty and love never abandon you!

Let the family warmth, well being and abundance, peace and prosperity always remain at your homes!

I wish you a good health and happiness, our dear women!

Islam Karimov,
President of the Republic of Uzbekistan