After years of unofficial curbs on religious clothing and the Tajikistan government has finally moved to formally ban the wearing of the hijab in the country.
The lower house of the Parliament (the Majlisi Namoyandagon) passed the Bill on May 8, and it got approved by the upper house on June 19, after the Eid celebrations. This move puts a legal weight on the remarks that were passed by the Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, who once referred hijab as a “foreign clothing”.
Why a hijab ban on a country with 90% Muslim population?
President Rahmon heads a secular government, to promote a “Tajiki” culture. He also wants to minimise the visibility of public religiosity in his country. The hijab ban has been deeply linked to his politics and grip on power. Rahmon has served as the President of the Central Asian nation since 1994. Early on in his career, he was positioned against more religious political parties.
The earliest hijab ban by President Rahmon began while he campaigned against the hijab in 2015, calling it “a sign of poor education.” In 2024, he said, “Xenophobia in clothing… Wearing foreign clothes with fake names and hijab, is another pressing issue for our society.”
