Muslim-majority Tajikistan bans hijab as part of years-long campaign against public religiosity

The new law bans the hijab and all other forms of foreign clothing, as well as children's festivities on Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

Tajikistan parliament | File Photo | Commons

New Delhi: Muslim-majority Tajikistan is set to ban the hijab as the government continues with its efforts to clamp down on public religiosity and promote its conception of Tajiki culture.

Historically part of the greater Iranian cultural sphere, Tajikistan, like other Central Asian countries, underwent forced secularisation during its time as a Soviet republic in the 20th century. Even the Persian script used to write the Tajik language — a variety of Persian — was replaced by an adapted version of the Cyrillic alphabet, used for Russian.

Constitutionally secular but Muslim majority (specifically Sunni majority), Tajikistan has been a de facto dictatorship since 1994 under its president Emomali Rahmon. In 2016, the country’s voters overwhelmingly backed constitutional changes that allowed Rahmon to rule indefinitely.

While the new law bans the hijab and all other forms of foreign clothing, existing laws in the country restrict Islamic prayer to specific locations, regulate the registration and location of mosques, and prohibit those younger than 18 years of age from participating in public religious activities.

Tajikistan Parliament’s upper house Majlisi Milli passed the law Wednesday aiming to ban “alien clothing”. It further banned children’s festivities on Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

The  law on “traditions and celebrations” was passed last month by the lower house Majlisi Namoyandagon and awaited President Rahmon’s ascent. It amended laws concerning holidays, cultural practices, the role of teachers in children’s upbringing, and parental duties. Lawmaker Mavludakhon Mirzoeva has confirmed this includes a ban on clothes deemed foreign to Tajik culture.

Those violating the law will be subjected to penalties — fines of about $740 for individuals and $5,400 for legal entities. Government officials and religious authorities face much higher fines of $3,700 and $5,060 respectively, if found guilty, a report said.

The decision has been condemned by the Union of Islamic Scholars and clerics in Afghanistan, and by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The US has already designated Tajikistan as a country of concern and has spoken against the violation of rights of religious autonomy in the country.

‘Religious associations shall be separate from state’

The law officially banning un-Tajiki clothing follows the years-long unofficial ban on Islamic clothing, beards for men, and western mini-skirts. It follows a 2018 manual on “how to dress” — The Guidebook Of Recommended Outfits In Tajikistan. The same year saw various roadblocks to stop cars carrying men with beards and women with hijabs, forcing women to remove hijabs and men to cut their beards.

In 2017, mobile phones were filled with messages chiding people to “obey the tajiki dressing”.

Two years ago, selling black clothes was banned in the country’s capital city Dushanbe followed by a speech by President Rahmon against foreign clothing.

The country with a majority Sunni Muslim population has seen leaders calling the black hijab and the beard “foreign”. According to the Voices of Central Asia, Tajiki clothes are colourful and embroidered and adapt from the Persian style of clothing. With the country’s mixed history — a former Soviet nation with a majority Muslim population — people often find themselves in the midst of an atheist way of thinking and Islamic traditions.

The hijab was already banned in schools and public institutions in the early 2000s. Tajikistan’s constitution says “religious associations shall be separate from the state and shall not interfere in state affairs”.

A 2011 law prohibited those under the age of 18 from attending Friday prayers in the predominantly Muslim country, the Turkish daily Sabah reported. Tajiks under the age of 35 were banned from attending Hajj in 2015 by the State Committee for Religious Affairs.

(Edited by Tikli Basu)