At present, in schools and universities that have inherited traditions from the Soviet era, there is still a practice of enforcing uniforms. For a long time, young people, including myself, thought in this way: a uniform has nothing to do with studying; instead of enforcing uniforms in schools and universities, it would be better to focus on improving the quality of education. In European countries, there are no such requirements—only in some special universities or schools is a uniform mandatory. In Uzbekistan, this may seem like pure nonsense at first glance.

However, after thinking about it, I began to understand. The society in Uzbekistan is different from the society in Europe. In Europe, the opportunity to choose one’s own clothing is given because the majority of young people there have a level of knowledge and awareness higher than in our society. Therefore, even if they are given freedom, they do not go to classes in revealing clothes or in outfits intended for cafés and restaurants; instead, they attend classes in a way that is comfortable yet maintains aesthetics.

If we were given such an opportunity here—meaning, if students were allowed to attend in whatever clothes they want—it is very likely that some girls would overdo their makeup or come to classes in everyday streetwear, shorts, or tank tops. We already see such examples on the streets today. This may not apply to everyone, but considering the fact that schools, universities, and institutes are crowded places with many students, these problems would certainly emerge.

Why do I particularly mention girls? Because in Uzbek and Karakalpak societies, restrictions and pressures on girls’ modesty and behavior have always been strong, whether from the community, relatives, or neighbors. However, these ideas and values have not always been clearly explained to every girl. They have often been taught simply with the phrase “don’t do it,” without giving meaningful reasons. When these young people later attend schools, universities, and institutes, and if they are given the right to wear whatever they want, many of them might not know where to draw the line. This creates a sense of comfort, and once they experience such comfort, they may reject listening to others, instead befriending those who act similarly, and continue in these wrong behaviors until they eventually understand the consequences on their own.

There is, of course, much more to be said on this topic, and this article will surely have a continuation. But in order not to fall into such negative behaviors, one should always gather information not from a single biased source, but from multiple sources—including those with opposing opinions—analyze them, and only then form the correct personal viewpoint.