Xadicha Sulaymonova was the First Uzbek Female Legal Scholar

Rislig’oy Satiboldiyeva

By: Rislig’oy Satiboldiyeva

In the history of Uzbekistan, it was a time that required great courage and fortitude for women to emerge as leaders in the fields of science and state administration. Xadicha Sulaymonova was one of the figures who walked such a challenging path and achieved great success in the field of law, becoming the first among Uzbek women. Xadiçha Sulaymonova left her mark not only as a scholar but also as a stateswoman. Xadiçha Sulaymonovna Sulaymonova was born on July 3, 1913, in the city of Andijan, which was part of the Turkestan General-Governorate. The scholar was distinguished from childhood by her determination, thirst for knowledge, and drive to achieve her goals.

Regarding the scholar’s student years, she graduated from a nine-year Russian school in 1931 and set out on the path to her dreams. She decided to master the field of law and began studying in the preparatory course at the Institute of Scientific Research in Soviet Construction and Law. A year later, she enrolled in the second year of the Faculty of Law at the Xadicha Jahon Obidova Institute of Soviet Construction and Law. This was a complex period in Uzbekistan, as the new Soviet legal system was taking shape, and at the same time the struggle for women’s freedom was intensifying as part of the “Hujum” movement, during which many women were persecuted by their own relatives.

Xadicha, who graduated from the institute in 1935, became the first Uzbek woman to serve as a people’s judge. This responsible work did not intimidate her at all. She would even come to work on her days off, thoroughly study criminal cases, and in difficult situations seek advice from the Chairman of the Supreme Court, E.M.Udris. From 1935 to 1938, she served as a people’s judge and then as a member of the Supreme Court of the Uzbek SSR, making her one of the first female judges in the world to hold such a position.

Regarding Xadicha Sulaymonova’s academic career, in September 1938, she enrolled in the graduate program of the Soviet Criminal Law Department at the Moscow Institute of Law. Despite the hardships of the war years, on July 20, 1945, she successfully defended her master’s thesis on the topic “The Criminal Legislation of the USSR in Uzbekistan during the Period of Military Intervention and Civil War”. With this work, she became the first Uzbek woman to receive a scientific degree in law. After defending her dissertation, she worked at the Tashkent Law Institute from September 1945, first as an associate professor of the criminal law department and later as its head. Also, from 1948 to 1950, Xadicha Sulaymonova completed her doctoral studies at the Institute of Law of the Academy of Sciences of the SSSR. In December 1950, she defended her doctoral dissertation on “The Emergence and Development of Soviet Criminal Law in Uzbekistan” and in 1951 was awarded the academic degree of Doctor of Juridical Sciences. In 1952, she was awarded the title of professor, and in 1954, she received the honorary title of Honored Scientist of the Uzbek SSR. In 1956, she was elected a full member (academician) of the Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR.

In 1954, Khadicha Sulaymonova was appointed rector of the Tashkent Law Institute. After the institute was merged with the university, she continued her work as dean of the law faculty and as a department head. In 1956, she was appointed Minister of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan. She also served as the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Uzbek SSR.

In 1958, Xadicha Sulaymonova founded the Institute of Forensic Medicine — a name the institution would later be given. Under her scientific guidance, she supervised the defense of 16 candidates’ theses, and as a member of the Soviet Committee of Women, she was actively involved in public life.

Years after Xadicha Sulaymonova’s death (November 26, 1965, Tashkent), her scientific and legal legacy is still valued today. In honor of the academic’s 110th birthday, Tashkent State University of Law established a special scholarship in her name. This scholarship was established to encourage university students and students from the attached academic lyceum who are actively contributing to science and the building of a rule of law state, and who are actively participating in ensuring the primacy of the law in society. Xadicha Sulaymonova is a unique figure who laid the foundation for the legal sciences in Uzbekistan and was the first among women to achieve the titles of judge, candidate of sciences, doctor of sciences, and academician. Her life story is not just a history of personal achievements, but a vivid example of Uzbek women of that era breaking into science and public administration.

Rislig’oy Satiboldiyeva, second-year student at the Faculty of Criminal Justice, Tashkent State University of Law.

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