Hijab banned in Tajikistan which has 95% Muslim population, cafes opened in illegal mosques, why is the President constantly taking big decisions?

While almost all Islamic countries have been talking about a specific dress code and manner for women, Tajikistan seems to be completely different. The government there has banned wearing hijab and growing beard. Apart from this, children cannot participate in religious events in public. The government is also closing mosques in the country, and replacing them with commercial shops. Know who is making these changes and with what logic.

legal ban imposed

Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon kept calling the hijab a ‘foreign dress’. He kept speaking against wearing it in public places. After Rahmon came to power, an unofficial ban on the hijab began to appear. However, there was no rule or punishment for this. Now, about two months ago, this country has banned the hijab by passing a formal resolution in the Parliament. Under this, wearing, selling, buying and promoting the hijab is also banned.

will have to pay a heavy fine

This ban is not just for words, but if any woman is seen breaking the rules, she will be fined about 700 dollars. If a woman working in a government position does this, she will have to pay many times more penalty. Not only hijab, the Tajik government has banned many religious practices. But the most shocking decision was regarding mosques.

Mosques converted into cafes, halls

According to a report by The Diplomat, the Tajik government has closed more than two thousand mosques in the last few years and converted them into cafes, cinemas, factories or social work centers. The purpose of this was to bring religious practice out of the realm of fanaticism. President Emomali Rahmon did not do this immediately, but first a notice was issued to those mosques which did not have registration. After this, the government took over the unauthorized religious places.

Why is the government taking such decisions

In the year 2020, more than 96 percent of the total population of this country was Muslim. In such a situation, such decisions are surprising. There are many reasons behind these steps of President Emomali Rahmon, the first of which is to connect with the rest of the world while reducing religious fanaticism. After separation from the Soviet Union (now Russia) in the nineties, many fundamentalist forces emerged in Tajikistan. They wanted to gain power by fighting among themselves. The result was that the war continued there for almost 6 years after independence.

By then Rahmon had entered politics. In 1994, the first general elections were held in independent Tajikistan, in which Rahmon won. Since then, he has remained in power with many constitutional amendments. Since Islamic organizations had caused huge damage to the country during the civil war, the new official government decided to rein them in.

Ban imposed on extremist parties

Since then, he has been controlling fundamentalism through the parliament. However, for this he had to face opposition from within and outside. For example, the government banned many groups which earlier had the status of political parties, including the fundamentalist organization Islamic Renaissance Party of his own country. Other countries also said that the President was interfering with religious freedom. Even after this, Rahmon remained in power and kept making changes.

There is a special reason why such big decisions can be taken even amidst opposition.

In fact, Rahmon banned all opposition political parties, which were actually fundamentalists. There is also control on political dissent, due to which the public is not able to come out on the streets. Apart from this, on the lines of the Russian President, the leader of this country also made such changes in the constitution, so that he can remain in power for a long time without contesting elections.

In what condition are women

After the crackdown on religious extremism, the political and social status of women improved. They got a place in politics and administration. However, this did not make much difference in their personal status. UNICEF’s 2022 study says that more than 40 percent of the women in the country have been victims of domestic violence.