Tajikistan Bans Hijab in Schools and Workplaces

Dushanbe, MINA – Radio Liberty’s Tajik service, Radio Ozodi, reports that although there is no formal law banning the hijab, authorities have implemented the ban effectively in schools and workplaces.

Thousands of women in Tajikistan are being forced to choose between pursuing a career or wearing the hijab, amid an escalating crackdown by Dushanbe authorities, MEMO reported on Wednesday.

Recently, the Tajik parliament adopted a draft amendment to the law on “traditions and celebrations” that would officially prohibit the use, import, sale and advertising of “clothing foreign to Tajik culture.” This term is widely used by officials to describe Islamic clothing.

Amendments to the administrative offenses code were also approved, imposing hefty fines on those wearing such clothing. Individuals can be fined up to $740, while legal entities can be fined $5,400. Government officials and religious authorities face even higher penalties.

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Tajik lawmaker Mavloudakhon Mirzoyeva said an amended version of the bill includes a ban on clothing deemed foreign to Tajik culture.

The bill will soon be approved by the upper house of parliament and signed into law by President Emomali Rahmon.

Some Dushanbe residents expressed their opposition to the ban, believing people should have the freedom to choose their clothing. Many Tajiks feel the new amendments will only formalize an unofficial ban that has been in place for years.

A government crackdown on the hijab began in 2007, extending to all public institutions and culminating in market raids and street fines. Authorities have promoted national dress, sending messages in 2017 urging women to wear Tajik clothing and publishing a 376-page guidebook on recommended clothing.

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Additionally, Tajikistan has unofficially banned beards, and thousands of men have reportedly had their beards forcibly shaved by police over the past decade.

Something similar also happened in neighboring Uzbekistan, where in 2021, it was reported that police had forced dozens of Muslim men to shave their facial hair. (T/RE1/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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