Authorities in Tajikistan have called on women in this former Soviet Central Asian republic to "
dress Tajik style
" in order to counter the influence of the West and radical Islam on dress style in this secular country with a Muslim majority.
The " Let's dress Tajik style
" campaign
, launched on March 1 and based on a state manual recommending a certain national dress code for women, will run until May 30, the official Khovar news agency reported on Sunday. .
It aims to "
reduce the intensity of the penetration of foreign clothing and cultures
" into Tajikistan and "
protect the national culture and prestige
" of the country "
in the context of globalization
", according to the same source.
Growing influence of Islam
Quoted by Khovar, the Ministry of Culture manual published in 2018 states that "
girls and women are not recommended to wear black clothes, black scarf, headscarf and hijab
".
Aware of the growing influence of Islam in Tajik society, which is plagued by economic difficulties, the government has made the fight against religious fundamentalism a priority.
For example, he banned foreign-trained imams from practicing and introduced restrictions on beard trimming.
According to the authorities, at least a thousand Tajiks have joined several organizations classified as terrorist in Iraq or Syria in recent years.
The manual also recommends not wearing "
bare European clothing, mini-skirts, low cuts, tops, thin dresses revealing the body
".
The Khovar agency adds that it is “
convinced that this will block the way to superstition and alienation
” and will make it possible to “
promote a modern national dress
”.
Read also“Iran, a three-millennium civilization, by rejecting the veil, rejects Sharia and Islam”
Tajikistan, the poorest of the former Soviet republics, has been led since 1992 by Emomali Rakhmon, who also bears the title of “
Founder of Peace and National Union
” and Tajik “
Head of the Nation
”.
Emomali Rakhmon had already called in the past to "
end the shameful manifestations of a foreign culture, promote more national clothes for girls and women, fight prejudice and intensify explanatory work with women"
.
