Hujum (Russian: Худжум; 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