Hijab banned in Tajikistan: The Islamic country Tajikistan has taken a big decision against fundamentalism. Dictator Emomali, who has been in power for the last 30 years, has banned Muslim women from wearing hijab. Along with this, a ban has also been imposed on keeping a long beard. A rule of fine and punishment has been made for not following the rules. Emomali believes that the new law will stop the fundamentalism spreading in the country.
In fact, the Muslim country Tajikistan is surrounded by the borders of Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. This country is currently under international surveillance due to terrorist incidents. After the involvement of 4 terrorists of Tajik origin in the terrorist attack in Moscow, the capital of Russia in March 2024, the government has started eliminating Islamic dress and identity in the country.
The main objective of the new rules of the government is said to be to control religious fundamentalism. Tajikistan is a Muslim majority country, where 98 percent of the population believes in Islam. Dictator President Imonali Rahmon, who has been in power for three decades, believes that curbing the public identities of Islam will help weaken conservative Islam. This will also reduce Islamic extremism.
Fines many times more than salary
In the new law, the government has issued an order to shave beards in public places. For this, the government has deployed moral police. Along with this, it has also ordered a fine of more than 1 lakh rupees and punishment for not following the law. On the other hand, if we talk about the economic condition of Tajikistan, the average monthly salary in the country is around 15 thousand. Due to which there is widespread criticism in the country regarding the fine.
The teacher told her ordeal
According to Nilofer, a teacher in the capital Dushanbe, the police recently asked her to remove her hijab three times, and when she refused to do so, the police kept her in the police station overnight. Similarly, her husband had once refused to shave his beard, for which he had to stay in jail for 5 days. Fearing the adverse effects on her career, Nilofer has now stopped wearing the hijab.
Experts’ opinion on hijab ban
The new law is increasing discontent in the country. Experts say that this method can cause more radicalism instead of preventing it. Human rights expert Larisa Alexandrova said that the government is taking superficial measures instead of dealing with real problems like poverty, corruption and social inequality. The Emomali government’s focus is in the wrong direction.