Despite its Muslim majority, how did the Tajik government justify the hijab ban?

A few days ago, the Tajik government imposed restrictions on wearing the hijab in some public places, as part of a package of laws aimed at “strengthening national identity and preventing superstitions and extremism,” it said.

The law, approved by the Tajik parliament last Thursday, restricts the wearing of “foreign or exotic clothing,” including the hijab, or head covering worn by Muslim women, in public places such as schools, government hospitals, and religious institutions. In return, it encourages citizens to wear the national dress, saying that it preserves... On the identity and culture of the Tajik people.

How did the Tajik government justify the ban on the hijab?

A statement from the press office of the President of the State, Emomali Rahmon, stated that he had signed 35 laws, including a new version of the laws related to regulating “the wearing of clothing alien to the national culture, celebrations and rituals, the responsibility of parents for the education and upbringing of children, and the prohibition of children’s celebrations on Islamic holidays.”

According to the statement, the new versions of the Laws on the Organization of Ceremonies and Rituals in the Republic of Tajikistan and on Responsibility for the Education and Upbringing of the Child are aimed at “protecting the true values ​​of national culture, preventing superstitions, prejudices, excesses and extravagance in holding ceremonies and rituals, raising the spiritual, social and economic level of the people of Tajikistan, protecting the rights and freedoms of the child, educating and raising children in the spirit of humanism, national pride and respect for national values.”

Rahmon explained that “departing from the etiquette and rituals of dress” is considered “cultural alienation that undermines the independence of thought and the national and cultural identity of the Tajik nation,” noting that national clothing has received global recognition, including from UNESCO.

In this regard, he said, "We must avoid the penetration of so-called religious clothing that does not meet our religious needs, and is foreign to our customs and culture, in order to protect our national truth and values."

Rahmon instructed the Republic's Women and Family Affairs Committee, in cooperation with Tajik designers, to develop and introduce the design of national clothing in accordance with the religious and moral needs of Tajik women.

"Restrictions on freedoms"

This decision sparked great controversy in a country with a Muslim majority, as Tajikistan has a population of about 10 million people, 96% of whom are Muslims, according to the latest statistics in 2020, and observers found that this measure constitutes a new restriction on religious freedoms.

On the other hand, the head of the Religious Affairs Committee in Tajikistan, Suleiman Dawlatzadeh, said that this decision is in line with the spirit of the times and “prevents the import, sale, and wearing of the hijab in public places and advertisements,” he said.

Violators of the new law on dressing and celebrating holidays will be fined in amounts ranging from 7,920 Tajikistani somoni (about 700 euros) for ordinary citizens, 54,000 somoni (4,694 euros) for government officials, and 57,600 somoni (about 5,000 euros) for clergy.

This procedure is not the first of its kind

In previous times, similar laws were imposed to prevent many other festive practices in Tajikistan. These laws include banning a tradition called “Edgardak,” in which children go around homes collecting Eid gifts during Eid al-Fitr.

Although citizens in Tajikistan enjoy freedom of belief, the government, starting in 2010, implemented a series of measures to confront what it calls "the phenomenon of religious extremism."

The Parental Responsibility Law, which entered into force in 2011, penalizes parents who send their children to religious educational institutions outside the country, while those under the age of 18 are prohibited from entering places of worship without the permission of their families, according to the same law.

The report of the Religious Affairs Committee of Tajikistan in 2017 also indicated that 1,938 mosques were closed in just one year, and those places were converted into cafes and medical centers.

On the other hand, in 2007, Tajikistan banned students from wearing Islamic fashions, as well as short skirts belonging to Western culture, before the decision was expanded to include public institutions. In 2018, the government also published a written guide entitled “Guide to Recommended Clothing in Tajikistan.”