Vedomosti: Tajikistan bans wearing of 'alien clothing'

On 25 June 2024 the Russian newspaper Vedomosti, under the byline of Nurlan Gasymov, reported that Tajikistan’s new law “On the Regulation of Traditions” had come into force on 22 June 2024, its text published in the government newspaper “Jumhuriyat”. According to the article, the law imposes large fines for violations of traditional rites and celebrations. The article lists amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences: fines of 8,640 somoni (over 72,000 roubles) for individuals and 25,200 somoni (210,000 roubles) for officials for violating ceremonies linked to birth, circumcision, funerals and mourning; 15,840 somoni (over 132,000 roubles) for individuals and 39,600 somoni (330,000 roubles) for officials for breaches of wedding rules (banquet up to 150 guests, meal up to 200, duration up to three hours until 22:00); 21,600–108,000 somoni for performers, restaurant/banquet-hall or café owners; and fines from 21,600 somoni for individuals and 57,600 for officials (over 480,000 roubles) for violations around sending off and meeting pilgrims to Mecca. Repeat violations within a year: 72,000 somoni (over 600,000 roubles) for individuals and 86,400 somoni (721,000 roubles) for officials. The article states that the law also bans “alien” clothing for Tajik citizens, but does not define what counts as such or list sanctions for wearing it. The original law on regulating traditions has been in force since 2007; the new edition was signed by President Emomali Rahmon on 20 June 2024. The article recalls that in March he called “imitation of alien culture in clothing” a pressing problem. It states that in early June, Saidmukarram Abdukodirzoda, chairman of the Council of Ulema of Tajikistan, supported the hijab ban; the Istanbul-based League of Muslim Scholars condemned the ban and some Afghan clerics declared “jihad” against the Tajik authorities. The article notes Uzbekistan had a similar ban from the 1990s, lifted by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in July 2021, and that Kazakhstan’s parliament is planning a similar bill. It quotes experts Stanislav Pritchin (IMEMO RAN) and religious-studies scholar Bakhtier Babadzhanov on the authorities’ motivations. Sources cited: “Jumhuriyat”, Tengrinews.kz, IMEMO RAN experts.