Tajikistan women speak up against government’s push for ‘national clothing’

Authorities are counting on fashion designers to promote the traditional garb. 
| Photo Credit: AFP

Women in Tajikistan are being advised by the government to dress more “Tajik-style” and not wear either revealing western clothes or Islamic head coverings — supposedly to reinforce national identity. Some in the secular Muslim country are speaking out against the advice, including from President Emomali Rakhmon as well as in the form of a manual due to be issued this year.

The advice to be published in July will be based on “scientific and historical sources”, Khurshed Nizomi, a culture Ministry official, said. It applies to women “of all ages” and will give tips on what to wear “at work, at home, at the theatre or during celebrations”, he said. Authorities are counting on fashion designers to promote traditional garb.

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But Firuza Naimova, a pharmacist, questioned the need for government advice to women on clothing. “There are many economic and social problems — a lack of electricity, the air quality, emigration” to Russia, she said. “Why do they want to give lessons to women?” she asked.

Mr. Rakhmon passed a law in 2024 banning the “import and sale of foreign clothes and their wearing in public places” and called on Tajiks to respect “the wearing of national clothing”. “ Those who wear foreign clothes like the hijab think of themselves as different. They are nothing, trample on our values, undermine our identity,” he had said.

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“In Tajikistan, women have always faced pressure on clothing choices,” Farzona Saidzoda, co-author of the initiative “Tell Me Sister”, said.

“I have worn the hijab for nine years. I have never had a problem until this year when I was asked to show my hair in a Ministry and then at the market,” said Dzhamila, a doctor. “Last spring, some of my friends were detained and received fines” for wearing hijabs, she added.