Inside the Wardrobe: Women’s Clothing Increasingly Policed in Tajikistan

The campaign to restrict what women may wear in public began in 2007 in Tajikistan, when wearing the hijab was banned in schools, and from 2009 in public institutions. In 2015, the Tajik authorities reportedly held meetings with schools and women's clothing sellers to educate them about the importance of the national Tajik dress. In 2017, the authorities cracked down on shops selling dolls dressed in hijabs or other types of Islamic dress. Rahmon, who has served as president since 1994, also ordered a special commission to identify a more “appropriate” dress code for citizens. In September 2017, people in Tajikistan received text messages from the government reminding them to wear national costumes at “traditional gatherings”, enforcing a law from August 2017 requiring citizens to wear national dress at events such as weddings and funerals.

In 2018, the ministry of culture went further and published a 367-page book titled “The Guidebook To Recommended Outfits In Tajikistan” aimed at girls and women from age seven. It included recommendations on sleeve lengths, skirt lengths, fabrics, and recommendations for shoes: heels are a must. Although the book was not written into law, it sent a strong message to the women of Tajikistan. What they wear is not their own choice.

But was it ever? Tajikistan is a deeply patriarchal society where control over women's lives is often deeply entrenched. Surveys reveal that 29% of married women experienced social control by their current or most recent partner, including restrictions on whom they could speak with and where they were allowed to go. Almost 30% of employed women reported having no say in how to spend their own money and 49% of women do not participate in their own healthcare decisions, major household purchases, or travel plans. Given these figures, it is not difficult to understand why the authorities in Tajikistan find it normal to restrict, control, and police what women wear.

This was exacerbated by the authorities’ fear of Islamic extremism in Tajikistan. The authorities forget that it may not be women in Tajikistan who decide what to wear, but their husbands or fathers, who often control women’s whereabouts, financial allowances, and often do not see it as necessary for women to be educated or work.

Other countries in Central Asia have also tried policing women’s outfits. In Turkmenistan, women are subject to arbitrary restrictions on the way they dress. In Kazakhstan, schools banned hijabs and headscarves in 2023, resulting in scores of girls missing school. In neighboring Iran, requirements regarding the compulsory wearing of the hijab led to mass protests in 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini, who died after being detained and mistreated by Iran’s notorious morality police for violating headscarf rules. Restrictive practices have also been enforced in European countries, such as an extensive hijab ban in France.

Now, in Tajikistan women can be fined between $750-6,000 for wearing, selling or distributing foreign clothing which is perceived as being “inconsistent with national culture and traditions”. There have also been reports of women being warned of the liability to fines if not dressing correctly when entering medical facilities.

An additional burden for families is the cost of wearing national dress in Tajikistan. Most often, traditional Tajik outfits are tailored, and fabrics can be very expensive for common citizens.

State-sanctioned religious leaders in Tajikistan were quick to follow the government’s lead: just over a month after the recent law was signed by the president, the Ulema Council in Tajikistan issued a fatwa prohibiting women from wearing black, tight-fitting, or transparent clothing.

The message is also spread around in universities. A publication by the Avicenna Tajik State Medical University this summer, called upon women to abandon black, tight-fitting clothes, or hijabs, stating that women do not understand that such actions are disrespecting the Tajik nation. But dressing is an individual act of self-expression, and should not be perceived as disrespectful to a culture or state.

This practice clearly contradicts international human rights law which states that, as a general rule, the right to freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression mean that all people should be free to choose what – and what not – to wear. Governments have an obligation to respect, protect, and ensure every individual’s right to express their beliefs or personal convictions or identity. They must create an environment in which every person can make that choice, free of coercion. For Tajikistan, this means that religious, cultural, or traditional arguments cannot be used in order to restrict those who wish to dress in a different way. At the same time, Tajikistan should take additional measures to protect women from being coerced to dress in certain ways by family members, community, or religious groups or leaders.

As one activist told IPHR: “Nobody has the right to dictate to us by law what is culturally appropriate clothing. The right to self-determination, the right to choose what we are and how we present ourselves, makes us proud women of Tajikistan”.

Alva Omarova is a researcher for International Partnership for Human Rights. IPHR is an independent, non-governmental organization founded in 2008. Based in Brussels, IPHR works closely together with civil society groups from different countries to raise human rights concerns at the international level and promote respect for the rights of vulnerable communities. See more at: https://www.iphronline.org/en/

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