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Biography
Oral Ataniyazova (Russian: Орал Атаниязова) is an obstetrician and medical scientist from Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan. She is the director of Perzent, the Karakalpak Center for Reproductive Health and Environment. She was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2000. She currently lives in Nukus, Uzbekistan.
After completing her PhD in medical sciences in Moscow, Ataniyazova conducted a survey in 1992 of 5,000 reproductive-age women in Karakalpakstan. The results were shocking, with over 90% of all women surveyed having some form of complication during pregnancy and/or childbirth. This has been attributed to the ecological disaster around the Aral Sea, which Karakalpakstan borders. In response to these findings, Ataniyazova founded the Karakalpak Center for Reproductive Health and Environment, named Perzent, which means progeny in the Karakalpak language. The center is located in the Nukus government hospital. It provides education to the local population about a wide range of issues, from family health to clean water and food.
Ataniyazova works to promote awareness of the problems around the Aral Sea. She has been the keynote speaker for many world conferences, and has addressed the United Nations.