Bishkek street, September 22, 2022. VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO / AFP
The authorities of Tajikistan have called on the women of this former Soviet republic of Central Asia to “dress Tajik stylein order to fight against the influence of the West and radical Islam on the style of dress in this secular country with a Muslim majority.
Countryside “let’s dress tajik stylelaunched on March 1 and based on a state manual recommending a certain national dress code for women, will run until May 30, the official Khovar news agency reported on Sunday.
It aims to “reduce the intensity of penetration of foreign clothing and culturesin Tajikistan andprotect national culture and prestige” from the country “in the context of globalization“, according to the same source.
Growing influence of Islam
Quoted by Khovar, the Ministry of Culture manual published in 2018 states that “girls and women are not recommended to wear black clothes, black scarf, headscarf and hijab“. Aware of the growing influence of Islam in Tajik society, which is plagued by economic difficulties, the government has made the fight against religious fundamentalism a priority. For example, he banned foreign-trained imams from practicing and introduced restrictions on the size of beards.
According to the authorities, at least a thousand Tajiks have joined several organizations classified as terrorist in Iraq or Syria in recent years. The manual also recommends not wearing “bare European clothes, mini-skirts, necklines, tops, thin dresses revealing the body“. The Khovar agency adds being “convinced that this will bar the way to superstition and alienation» and will allow «promote modern national dress“.
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Tajikistan, the poorest of the former Soviet republics, has been ruled since 1992 by Emomali Rakhmon, who also bears the title of “Founder of Peace and National Union” And “nation leader» Tajik. Emomali Rakhmon had already called in the past to “put an end to shameful manifestations of a foreign culture, further promote national clothing for girls and women, combat prejudice and intensify explanatory work with women“.
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