The Diplomat | Author

Niginakhon Saida
Niginakhon Saida is a scholar whose research interests focus on gender, Islam, and politics in Central Asia.
Nigina is a graduate of the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, where she studied politics and security (Central Asia). She is an adjunct professor at Webster University in Tashkent and teaches political science and sociology related classes. She is also a master’s student at the University of Glasgow in Eurasian studies. Her research interests focus on gender, Islam, and politics in Central Asia. Nigina has a degree in European Studies: Human Rights and Democratization in the Caucasus from Yerevan State University as well.
You can find her on Twitter.
Nigina was a Summer 2022 intern with The Diplomat’s Crossroads Asia section and is now a regular contributor to The Diplomat.

May 07, 2025
Inside Uzbekistan’s Private University Boom
By Bakhrom Mirakilov and Niginakhon Saida

April 26, 2025
Uzbekistan’s Struggle to Regulate Privately Organized Muslim Pilgrimage Tours Continues
By Niginakhon Saida

April 15, 2025
Why Uzbekistan Continues to Push for Engaging With Afghanistan
By Niginakhon Saida

March 12, 2025
Will Uzbekistan’s 31-Year Effort to Join the WTO Finally Pay Off?
By Niginakhon Saida and Oybek Saidkhodjaev

February 13, 2025
Uzbekistan’s Corruption Crackdown: Progress or Perpetual Crisis?
By Kodir Kuliev and Niginakhon Saida

February 04, 2025
Chess, Culture, and Controversy: Uzbek Grandmaster’s Handshake Refusal Sparks Debate
By Niginakhon Saida

December 17, 2024
Uzbekistan Moves to Protect Rights of Uzbek Citizens in Russia
By Niginakhon Saida

December 02, 2024
How Do Uzbek Men Kill Women? Impulsively, Brutally, and Often at Home
By Niginakhon Saida and Svetlana Dzardanova

November 05, 2024
Russia Still a Cold Front for Central Asian Migrants
By Niginakhon Saida

October 28, 2024
A Close Call in Tashkent: Allamjonov Survives Assassination Attempt
By Niginakhon Saida

October 18, 2024
Pushed to the Edge: Why Women Kill in Uzbekistan
By Niginakhon Saida
