The first Muslim country to ban the hijab (and fine women who wear it)

Khujand (Tajikistan)In the bazaar of Khujand, Tajikistan's second-largest city, women in hijabs and abayas, others in European clothing with their hair uncovered, and others with scarves tied around their necks and colorful tunics, strolled until May of last year. Now, however, one of these garments has been banned. In a country with a Muslim population of over 90 percent, one might think that the state has banned wear your hair uncovered. But no. In Tajikistan, which is constitutionally secular, the woman who is fined is the one who wears the hijab.

Last year, President Emomali Rahmon signed a set of laws that, according to the preamble, were intended to "protect the true values of national culture, prevent superstition and fanaticism, and increase spirituality and living standards." The new rules dictate the budget, guests, and schedule for national celebrations, family ceremonies, and pilgrimages to Mecca. They also prohibit the import, sale, and wearing of "foreign clothing," with fines ranging from 8,000 to 54,000 somoni (between 700 and 4,700 euros), in a country where the average salary is 2,700 somoni (approximately 240 euros).

The law does not specify specific garments, but in practice it has meant a ban on the hijab and the abaya. Khursand Khurramov, a Tajik political scientist and journalist, explains that the authorities justify this with the argument of "preserving cultural purity" and have classified the hijab as "an Arab piece of clothing that is not part of Tajik culture" and therefore should be eliminated. Following this logic, Khurramov argues, jeans and sneakers should also be banned, but only Muslim veils are targeted. "Clearly, the goal is the secularization of society," he says.

Tajikistan is a very conservative country, analyzes Fran Olmos, a researcher at the Foreign Policy Centre, but "Islam is not as central to society as it is in the Middle East." This is due to the legacy of the Soviet Union, which secularized Central Asian societies. In Tajikistan, there is a "balance between Islam and its own traditions," which have influenced each other over centuries of coexistence, Olmos describes.

Against radicalization

However, President Rahmon is the leader in the region who has made the pilgrimage to Mecca the most times and who has most incorporated Islam into his political image. Therefore, the new laws are not a fight against religion. According to Olmos, "the real motive behind this measure is the fight against radical Islam and its spread."

Tajikistan shares a long border with Afghanistan in a sparsely populated and poorly policed region. In 2011, the exiled leader of the Islamist opposition created the Taliban group Jamaat Ansarullah, made up of Tajiks, which controls northern Afghanistan. In 2018, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in which four bicycle tourists were killed. The proximity of the Taliban regime to a region where the government doesn't have an eye on every corner is a source of concern as a source of radicalization.

However, there is no evidence that banning the hijab curbs radicalization. However, it limits freedom of personal and religious expression in an authoritarian state where religious education is highly restricted, where non-Sunni branches of Islam are persecuted, and where children and women are prohibited from entering mosques. The law not only responds to the government's desire for control, but further limits women's rights in a deeply conservative society.

Munira Shahidi, president of the Ziyodullo Shahidi Cultural Foundation, says the ban "affects each woman differently." For some, especially in cities "where secularism has long defined public life," it's not a major change. This is the case for Narguiza, a 27-year-old from Dushanbe who is not religious, who says the law doesn't affect her "in any way." Sharafat, also from the capital, believes that "for women who wear religious clothing, it has a huge impact on their lives" and can make it difficult for them to "maintain their spiritual practice."

Rural areas of the country are much more conservative and religious. Oksana, from a village near the capital, welcomes the change because she has witnessed how religion has transformed the lives of progressive girls who, she says, have been influenced by their families to "drop out of university and stay at home."

No option to protest

Shahidi explains that the hijab is a "personal and intimate expression of faith, rather than a political symbol," as the government perceives it. For women, the ban represents a "silent loss," as they have no choice but to resign themselves and cover their hair with Tajik scarves tied at the back of their necks, accepted by the authorities, with no option to protest in a highly authoritarian state.

According to Khurramov and Olmos, the regulations have not been systematically enforced. "There are cases where women wearing hijabs have been prevented from entering public buildings," says Khurramov, "but even the Women's Affairs Committee has admitted that its attempts to restrict women's religious attire have failed." However, there are reports of women being taken to the police station and forced to surrender their veils, and others being expelled from buses or hospitals. Despite its uneven implementation and uncertain long-term impact, the new legislation is an attack on the already restricted freedoms and rights of Tajik women in a society marked by political and social restrictions.