Tajikistan, A Muslim Majority Country, Has Passed A New Law Banning Women From Wearing The Hijab In Public
The law bans importing, selling and wearing traditional Islamic garments including the hijab – a traditional head scarf worn by Muslim women – saying it’s "alien" to Tajik culture.
Tajikistan, a Muslim majority country, has passed a new law banning women from wearing the hijab in public.
Women shop for food at Mehrgon bazaar in Dushanbe on April 1, 2024. (Via Getty Images)
The law bans importing, selling and wearing traditional Islamic garments including the hijab – a traditional head scarf worn by Muslim women – saying it’s "alien" to Tajik culture.
Tajik women selling cakes in a local market, Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region, Khorog, Tajikistan on August 19, 2016 in Khorog, Tajikistan. (Via Getty Images)
Citizens are encouraged to wear Tajik national attire instead.
DUSHANBE, TAJIKISTAN - JUNE 14: Tajikistani women perform with their traditional costumes at a street in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. (Via Getty Images)
And people who violate the law, will be fined from US$742 up to US$5,400, according to local media.
Iodgoroi Makhmalieva (L) and her daughter cook in their new house in the village of Khuroson, near Obikiik, some 70 kilometers south of the capital Dushanbe. (Via Getty Images)
The president said that the hijab ban will “preserve Tajik culture” and limit public religious displays.
Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon is seen during a meeting with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena (not seen) at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, Sri Lanka on December 13, 2016. (Via Getty Images)
The decision was viewed as shocking since the Central Asian country, with about 10 million people, has a 96% Muslim population.
A woman buys lamb meat at a market in the town of Hissar, western Tajikistan.(Via Getty Images)
The government said it introduced the new law for national security and to stop terror groups from emerging in the region.
KHOROG, TAJIKISTAN - AUGUST 19: Old tajik woman selling some bread in a pram in a covered market, Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region, Khorog, Tajikistan on August 19, 2016 in Khorog, Tajikistan. (Via Getty Images)
This move is part of a series of measures by the Tajik government to crack down on Islamic traditions.
People visit Mehrgon bazaar in Dushanbe. (Via Getty Images)
The country has already banned the hijab in schools and public institutions and there have been reports of police forcibly shaving the beards of Muslim men.
A woman sits on a street in the city of Vakhdat, some 21 km east of the Tajik capital Dushanbe. (Via Getty Images)
Muslims have expressed outrage over the decision, arguing that people should be able to wear what they want.
Selina Wu
