[1] A rising star in Uzbek theater, her career was cut short in 1929 by an honor killing, she became a symbol of women’s liberation and resistance to feudalism.

Shortly after joining the group, on 8 March 1928, she and another dancer went onstage and publicly removed their face-veils in celebration of International Women's Day, defying the social positions that had been imposed on them.

[5] Throughout her life, she was often threatened by religious fanatics who were enraged that she defied social norms by taking off the veil and seeking an acting career.

He admitted that the murder was premeditated,[7] at the insistence of their father Yoʻldoshxoʻja Salimxoʻjaev, the ming-boshi (a local administrator), and mullah Kamal G'iasov, who made Salixoʻja swear on the Quran to kill her.

Made by sculptor Valentin Klevantsov in 1967,[10][11] her statue was taken down in 1993 shortly after the disestablishment of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991;[12][13] A monument to a young woman representing the struggle for feminine emancipation was considered immoral in post-Soviet Uzbekistan.