Religion, Identity and Governance in Central Asia: Tajikistan’s Ban on Hijabs, Beards and Miniskirts

Key Points

Central Asia occupies a unique position in the global Muslim landscape. The Muslim-majority states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan are all products of the Soviet Union, where religion was tightly controlled for seventy years. Mosques were shut, clergy were monitored, and Islamic education was either banned or absorbed into state-run institutions.

When the USSR collapsed in 1991, independence brought a cultural revival, including renewed interest in Islam. But the newly independent states inherited the Soviet model of regulating religion to maintain secularity.

Over three decades later, this unease has produced a regional pattern: visible religious expression is tolerated only within strict limits, and states retain sweeping authority to regulate clothing, religious teaching, and community leadership. Tajikistan has taken this further than any of its neighbours.

Tajikistan’s Campaign Against Religious and Foreign Clothing

Over 95% of Tajikistan's population is Muslim, yet, for nearly two decades, its government has attempted to control religious expression in public. These restrictions intensified under President Rahmon, who has ruled since the mid-1990s after serving in the Soviet-era state structures of the Tajik SSR. His political rise came during the civil war that followed independence, and since then he has consolidated authority through an increasingly centralised and authoritarian system.

Rahmon’s government regularly warns that overt religious practice threatens national stability and undermines Tajik cultural heritage. Officials argue that hijabs, niqabs, long beards and certain religious celebrations represent foreign influence, particularly from the Arab world. The same goes for Western clothes like dress, short skirts, low cut tops, and sheer and tight-fitting clothes.

The government insists that Tajiks should instead maintain traditional dress, often described as modest clothing associated with national heritage. The national dress for women in Tajikistan consists of a dress, trousers, and a headscarf.

Rahmon has repeatedly framed these restrictions as a defence of Tajik identity. He has publicly criticised “alien clothing” and urged citizens to reject styles he associates with external religious influences. The government has used this narrative to support policies that regulate appearance and behaviour in public spaces. Rahmon has said that Tajikistan is a “secular nation built on ancient culture, not imported fanaticism.”

Legal Enforcements Under Rahmon

Tajikistan banned the 'foreign clothing' in public institutions in 2007, but recent legislation formalised and expanded the ban across schools, government offices and public places. The new law prohibits Islamic veils and Western miniskirts, instead endorsing traditional Tajik dress as the appropriate public standard. The government also restricts long beards and discourages religious clothing in daily life.

In 2015, Rahmon said that wearing foreign clothes “is another pressing issue for our society,” calling it a “a sign of poor education.” Over the years, he has defended his actions as fighting against religious extremism.

A key moment in this campaign came in 2018 when Tajikistan published official rules on acceptable dress – The Guidebook of Recommended Outfits in Tajikistan. The guidelines described national attire and warned against what the government called “alien” clothing. These rules formed the foundation for subsequent enforcement actions and shaped public messaging about identity and social behaviour. The government framed the document as a cultural guide meant to protect Tajik heritage, but in practice it functioned as a regulatory tool targeting religious dress.

The latest law, passed in June 2024, formally bans religious markers in public spaces – clothes, public displays, and proclamations. This legal framework came after years of informal pressure, accompanied by a crackdown on religious life. Police have shaved men’s beards at checkpoints, questioned women wearing headscarves, demolished mosques, and monitored marketplaces for “foreign dress”. These measures are enforced through fines, compliance monitoring, and media campaigns.

See Also: Iran's Streets 'Transformed' As More Women Shun The Mandatory Hijab

Central Asia’s Secular Authoritarianism

Rahmon often uses regional comparisons to justify Tajikistan’s own restrictions. He has pointed to policies across Central Asia and said that Tajikistan must not “allow foreign trends to divide society.” In speeches marking Independence Day and National Unity Day, the president framed clothing bans as part of a wider effort across the region to maintain secular governance and resist external influences.

Each Central Asian state enforces its own form of control:

Kazakhstan discourages the niqab and face coverings in public institutions and schools. Officials argue that black veils are “non-Kazakh” and represent imported ideologies.

Uzbekistan previously banned the hijab in educational institutions. While there has been some loosening after 2017, restrictions still exist in many government spaces and teachers can be barred from wearing hijabs at work.

Kyrgyzstan does not formally ban the hijab but runs state campaigns warning against “Arabisation” and encourages the wearing of traditional Kyrgyz clothing.

Turkmenistan enforces quiet but strict controls. Reports note bans on black clothing for women, police pressure to remove hijabs, and tight oversight of mosques.

Central Asian society is a contradiction, with Arabic and South Asian interpretations of Islam shaping culture and Soviet influences embedded in law and bureaucracy. As a result, people identify strongly as Muslims but often maintain limited public religious practice. The influence of neighbouring Muslim countries also puts Islam, more than other religions, at odds with state governments.

Bodily Autonomy and Global Parallels

The debate around Tajikistan’s ban sits within a global pattern of states enforcing clothing laws. France imposes bans on headscarves in public schools. Iran enforces mandatory hijab rules with state policing. India has seen heated disputes over hijabs in educational institutions. In each case, women are told what they must or must not wear, with reasons ranging from state control over personal life to women's empowerment. While such enforcements can be used to counter societal and cultural pressures forcing women to dress and present themselves in certain ways in public life, the autonomy gained by some is lost by others.

In Tajikistan, parents have reported being fined for dressing their daughters in headscarves. In Uzbekistan, teachers have been reprimanded for permitting students to attend class wearing hijabs. In France, the argument is secularism. Elsewhere, reasons span equality, security, empowerment and persecution.

Iran, in particular, is known for its heavy handed enforcement of clothing regulations. Women are forced to wear hijabs and follow strictly enforced rules for public conduct.

This reflects a broader political trend: authoritarian governments using dress as a proxy for ideological loyalty. Visible faith becomes a marker of resistance and controlling it becomes a tool of governance. [Rh]

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