Uzbekistan’s first female lawyer

Аннотация

Diloro (also known as Dinara) Yusupova – Uzbekistan’s first female lawyer, assistant to the OPEN ACCESS Prosecutor of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 1935. On SUBMITED 14 February 2025 October 28, 1937, Diloro Yusupova was formally ACCEPTED 13 March 2025 PUBLISHED 12 April 2025 charged under Article 68 of the Criminal Code of the VOLUME Vol.07 Issue04 2025 Uzbek SSR. After her release, Diloro Yusupova took full responsibility for her family, rejoined the party, and was CITATION reinstated in the prosecutor’s office. In 1939, she Sultonov Oybek Sultonboyevich. (2025). Uzbekistan’s first female lawyer. worked in arbitration, and during World War II, she The American Journal of Political Science Law and Criminology, 7(04), 29– served as the chair of the commission responsible for 32. https://doi.org/10.37547/tajpslc/Volume07Issue04-06 the social welfare of military personnel and war- disabled families. COPYRIGHT © 2025 Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the creative commons attributes 4.0 License. Keywords: Law, history, female, lawyer, wife, Sobirjon Yusupov, Muhammadjon Muminov, prosecutor, Scientific Research Institute of Soviet Law. Introduction: Diloro (also known as Dinara) Yusupova was born in 1911 in Bukhara. Her father, Sobirjon Muhamedovich Yusupov (1881–1931), studied at a vocational school in Tashkent from 1907 to 1910, specializing in mechanics. In 1911, due to persecution by the Tsarist secret police, he was forced to relocate to Bukhara, where he became an active member of the “Young Bukharans” organization. However, in 1917, Sobirjon Yusupov faced persecution by Emir Alim Khan and moved to Tashkent with the “Young Bukharans”. His knowledge of the Russian language and familiarity with revolutionary movements enabled him to integrate easily into political activities. In Tashkent, he participated in the Council of Muslim Soldier Deputies alongside figures such as Orif Kilibliev and Davlat Mirzaev, attending meetings held from October 18 to 26, 1917. Later, he was invited to join the presidium of the Kokand Autonomy government. Following the violent suppression of the Turkestan Autonomy, he took part in the Fifth Congress of the Soviets. On December 16, 1918, Sobirjon Yusupov was among a group that was received by Lenin. However, instead of addressing the issues they had raised, the Bolshevik The American Journal of Political Science Law and Criminology 29 https://www.theamericanjournals.com/index.php/tajpslc The American Journal of Political Science Law and Criminology leader (“dohiysi” – “the genius”, a term used by Soviet of Soviet Economy and Law at the Central Asian State propaganda to glorify Lenin) went on a lengthy University (CaГУ – Среднеазиатский Государственный discourse about irrigation matters in Turkestan. From Университет), specializing in the judicial department. that point forward, Soviet administrators kept a close However, by 1929, she was unable to complete her watch on Sobirjon Yusupov, recognizing his influence studies due to the closure of the law faculty. and resourcefulness among the people. Until 1919, For one year, she worked in Samarkand as an executive Yusupov held the status of an RSFSR representative in secretary in the planning department of the Water Turkestan. He later joined the fight against Admiral Management Administration. A significant turning point Kolchak’s forces. In August 1920, he was sent to in her life was her marriage to Muhammadjon Muminov Bukhara, where he served as the chairman of the (1903–1938), a native of Namangan, whom she had met Revolutionary Committee of the Bukharan People’s five years earlier during her time in Moscow. This Soviet Republic (BuKhChK – Bukharan Cheka, the important event in her life was also closely tied to secret police of the Bukharan People’s Soviet Samarkand. Republic), the head of the Bukharan Cheka (ChK – Brief Biography of Muhammadjon Muminov Cheka, the Soviet secret police), military commissar, and chief of the Shahrisabz militia. Later, he moved to At the age of 20, Muhammadjon Muminov, along with Tashkent, where he worked as the director of the “Kizil many of his peers, traveled to Moscow in 1923 under Shark” teKhtile factory (“Red East”, a Soviet-era the sponsorship of “Kumak” (a Soviet-era support teKhtile factory). organization that provided financial and educational assistance to young Central Asians studying in Russia). Due to her father’s political stance, Diloro Yusupova’s In 1924, he enrolled in the Faculty of Law at Moscow life was marked by persecution and eKhile. In 1917, she State University. At the end of 1928, he successfully and her mother were expelled from the Emirate of defended his thesis on “Prosecutorial Oversight in the Bukhara. Even after arriving in Tashkent, they were State Administration System” and graduated with first pursued by the Tsarist secret police and later honors (red diploma). Upon returning to Samarkand in forced to live in constant hiding from Cheka