veiling illegal, but it was eventually abandoned. It was believed that Soviet law could not advance without the support of the local populations. However, with the proliferation of murders linked to unveiling, new laws were introduced in 1928 and 1929 that addressed women's personal safety. These laws, deeming attacks on unveiling as "counterrevolutionary" and as "terrorist acts" (meriting the death penalty), were designed to help local authorities defend women from harassment and violence. In the private domestic domain, women's roles changed little, however their roles in the public domain as well as material conditions changed drastically, because of the hujum. The hujum's multifaceted approach to social and cultural reform in the form of women's liberation transformed women in public, breaking seclusion and creating new and active members of society. The concepts of women's abilities were transformed, but little progress was made in challenging gender ideals and roles. Decades after the hujum was first launched, the paranji was eventually phased out nearly completely, and mature women took to wearing large, loose scarves to cover their heads instead of paranjis. As a result of Soviet initiatives, literacy rates in Uzbekistan in the 1950s reached 70 to 75 percent. Employment for women rose rapidly in the 1930s due to the hujum. Women were forced to work in the fields of the collective farms. By the late 1950s, women outnumbered men in the collective farms. Modernization's effects were clear in Uzbekistan: education was made available for most Uzbek regions, literacy rose, and health care was vastly improved. See also Women in Islam Feminism Niqāb Honor killing Violence against women Nurkhon Yuldasheva Tursunoi Saidazimova Tadzhikhan Shadieva Tamara Khanum Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi Yodgor Nasriddinova Kashf-e hijab Gruaja Shqiptare and the unveiling in Albania Ali Bayramov Club and the unveiling in Azerbaijan Huda Sha'arawi and the Egyptian unveiling of the 1920s. Latife Uşaki and the Turkish unveiling of the 1920s. Soraya Tarzi and the Afghan unveiling of the 1920s. Humaira Begum and the Afghan unveiling of the 1950s. Notes References Soviet Central Asia Islamic female clothing Islam in the Soviet Union Feminism in the Soviet Union Anti-religious campaign in the Soviet Union Persecution by atheist states Persecution of Muslims Religious persecution by communists Anti-Islam sentiment in the Soviet Union Women's rights in the Soviet Union