In Tajikistan, which is more than 96 percent Muslim, Muslims are banned from wearing the hijab. The country’s government has also warned that a fine of up to 5 lakh rupees will be imposed for wearing hijab in violation of the ban. What is the reason for this? Let’s see about that?
In 1991, when the Soviet Union broke up into smaller countries, the country of Tajikistan was formed. One of the Central Asian countries, Tajikistan is bordered by Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east.
Since taking office in Tajikistan, which is more than 96 percent Muslim, President Emo Mali has made efforts to brand Tajikistan as a secular country. Emo Mali, who has been in power for more than 30 years, has insisted on wearing religious symbols in public.
In 2007, the government of Tajikistan banned students from wearing Islamic clothing and western clothing, such as miniskirts.
At that time, President Emomali had approved a law banning the hijab worn by Muslim women.
Since 2015, President Emo Mali has intensified his campaign against the hijab, considered a symbol of Islam, and criticized the hijab as a sign of poor education. He further accused the wearing of foreign clothes as an attempt to destroy the identity of the Tajik community.
In 2017, the government implemented automated phone calls urging women in the country to wear Tajik clothing. In 2018, the government published a 376-page handbook called ‘Appropriate Clothing for Women’, which listed the length, color and pattern of clothes and garments that show Tajik heritage acceptable to the government.
Thus, after years of unofficial restrictions on religious dress, the government of Tajikistan has now banned the wearing of the hijab.
This bill was passed in the lower house of the country’s parliament on May 8. Subsequently, the Hijab Ban Act was approved by the Upper House of Parliament on June 19 after the holy month of Ramadan this year. This historic law has been passed in Tajikistan, approving comments made by the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahman, who referred to the hijab as a “foreign garment”.
This new law, introduced by the government of Tajikistan, prohibits the importation of clothes that are foreign to the national culture of Tajikistan and the sale of them locally.
Violators of the ban will be fined between Rs 60,000 and Rs 5 lakh, and government officials and religious officials who violate the new law will face heavy fines, the government has warned.
President Emo Mali is said to have brought this law as a result of the growing sectarianism among the public. It is also reported that in the last few years, many mosques have been built in Tajikistan and Islamic religious research groups have also been formed on a large scale. The activities of Islamic armed groups are increasing in the border region between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
According to government sources, this new law has been introduced to prevent this. Also, during Ramadan. The government of Tajikistan has banned the giving of gifts of money to children and the celebration of other Islamic religious festivals that follow Ramadan.
In addition to banning black clothing at funerals, the new Tajik government law allows men with bushy beards to be forcibly captured and shaved over the years.
