The Turkmen president has authorized a one-time holiday payment of 60 manats-equivalent to roughly $3 at the black-market rate-for women nationwide ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8.

The funds will be distributed between March 2 and 6, The Caspian Post reports via Turkmen media.

The payments will go to a wide range of recipients, including women employed at enterprises and institutions regardless of ownership, pensioners and social benefit recipients, postgraduate and doctoral students, clinical residents studying full-time, trainees of the Academy of Civil Service under the president, as well as school, university, and even kindergarten students.

The 60-manat payment has been issued annually for the seventh consecutive year. Over the same period, food prices have surged sharply: since March 2019, the price of beef has risen from 22 to 110 manats per kilogram, while locally grown apples increased from 6 to 26 manats.

Before 2019, the holiday payment stood at 40 manats, equivalent to $11.4 at the official exchange rate at the time.