What is "hujum"

Hujum (; in Turkic languages, storming or assault, from Arabic: هجوم) was a series of policies and actions taken by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, initiated by Joseph Stalin, to try to have women in the Muslim majority areas of the Soviet Union remove their veils. The hujum was literally an "attack" on all manifestations of perceived gender inequality, especially on the archaic systems of female veiling and seclusion, practiced in Central Asia. Thus the party recast their message of class revolution into the novel lexicon of women's liberation. By abolishing the means of oppression apparent in Uzbekistan, and heralding in women's liberation, the Soviets believed they could clear the way for the construction of socialism. The hujum campaign's purpose was to rapidly change the lives of Uzbek women so that they may participate in public life, paid work, education, and ultimately membership in the Communist Party. It was originally conceived to enforce laws that gave women in patriarchal societies equality by creating literacy programs and bringing women into the labor force.

The program initiated around 1927, and was a change of the previous Bolshevik policy of religious freedom for the Muslims in Central Asia. However, quite in contrary to its aim, Hujum was seen by many Muslims as an outside foreign force, namely Russians, attempting to force their culture upon the indigenous population, namely Tajiks, Tatars, and Uzbeks, and so the veil became a cultural identity marker. Wearing it became an act of religious and political defiance, and a sign of support for the respective ethnic nationalism. Prior to Hujum many women were in positions of power in the soviets of Muslim areas, however, despite Hujums aim of "emancipating" the "oppressed" Muslim women, after its instigation the number of women in power decreased remarkably.