What to Wear in Tajikistan: "Catalog of National Clothes" was Presented

News:

The Committee for Women and Family Affairs under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan has shown samples of national clothing recommended for girls and women to wear. Earlier, the Committee stated that the national clothing project will take into account both national traditions and modern realities. And it will be created not only for women, but this time for men as well, - “Asia Plus” reports.

Comment:

The Tajik government has been trying to impose a certain “model of national clothing” on Tajik women for over ten years. It is obvious that the main goal of all these actions is an attempt to replace the Islamic form of clothing with national clothing. Moreover, the main instruments in the implementation of these plans are the Committee for Women and Family Affairs under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Committee for Religious Affairs, Regulation of National Traditions, Celebrations and Rituals, as well as the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education and Science and the Council of Ulema of Tajikistan.

Let us recall that on May 8 of this year, the lower house of the Parliament of Tajikistan adopted amendments to the law "On the regulation of traditions, celebrations and rituals in the Republic of Tajikistan", which provide for a ban on "import, sale and wearing in public places of clothing alien to the national culture", as well as a ban on "idgardak" - children's festivities on the occasion of the holidays of Idi Ramadan and Idi Qurbon. Immediately after the adoption of the amendments and even without waiting for the amendments to come into force, raids and detentions of women in traditional Islamic clothing began in all populated areas of the country - raids took place in markets, clinics, hospitals, and in large cities - and on the streets. Working groups were organized to conduct raids and explanatory talks with the involvement of students and public sector employees, including on a forced basis. The raids continued for about three weeks, during which a wave of discontent grew among the population, and heated discussions and expressions of discontent did not stop on social networks. On June 19, the upper house of the Tajik parliament approved amendments to the law “On the regulation of traditions and rituals”, and on June 20, the press service of the President of Tajikistan reported that he had signed a total of 35 laws that “are aimed at protecting the true values ​​of national culture, preventing superstitions and prejudices, excesses and extravagance during celebrations and rituals, raising the spirituality and socio-economic level of the people of Tajikistan, as well as protecting the rights and freedoms of the child, educating and raising children in the spirit of humanism, patriotic pride, respect for national and universal values”.

After Islamic scholars and preachers from all over the world condemned the actions of the Tajik regime, and some well-known Persian-speaking preachers from Afghanistan even declared “jihad” against the Rahmon regime, the authorities began to think about how to defuse the situation. To do this, they involved government religious figures. Thus, the chairman of the Council of Ulema of Tajikistan, Saidmukarram Abdukodirzoda, supported the amendments to the law banning the so-called “foreign clothing” and stated that national clothing should also comply with Islamic norms. “The Tajik people have their own special clothing. The Arab people also have their own special clothing. Each nation has its own special clothing, and at the same time, Sharia norms are observed. This is important, the rest is not important. It is not necessary to follow and blindly imitate someone else’s clothing”, - the chairman of the Council of Ulema said at the time. At the same time, the active phase of the raids was stopped, which eventually defused the situation somewhat. However, observers believe that the regime has not given up, but has simply made a tactical maneuver, and the final ban on the hijab in Tajikistan is a matter of time.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Muhammad Mansour