Why did Muslim-majority Tajikistan ban the hijab?

Tajikistan's government passed a law banning the hijab, the latest in a string of 35 wide-ranging religion-related acts, in a move described by the government as "protecting national cultural values" and "preventing superstition and extremism".

The law, approved by parliament's upper house Majlisi Milli last Thursday, bans the use of "foreign clothing" — including the hijab, or head covering worn by Muslim women.

Instead, Tajikistan citizens are encouraged to wear Tajik national dress.

Those violating the law are set to be fined on a scale ranging from 7,920 Tajikistani somoni (almost €700) for ordinary citizens, 54,000 somoni (€4,694) for government officials and 57,600 somoni (about €5,000) if they are a religious figure.

Similar laws passed earlier this month affect several religious practices, such as the centuries-old tradition known in Tajikistan as "iydgardak," in which children go door-to-door to collect pocket money on Eid holidays.

The decision was seen as surprising, as the central Asian country of some 10 million is 96% Muslim, according to the last census in 2020.

Yet, it is a reflection of the political line that the government has been pursuing since 1997.

In Tajikistan, the government of president-for-life Emomali Rahmon has had its sights set on what they describe as extremism for a long time.

After a peace deal to end a five-year civil war in 1997, Rahmon — who has been in power since 1994 — first found a way to coexist with the opposition Tajikistan Islamic Resurrection Party (TIRP), which was granted a series of concessions.

According to the UN-brokered agreement, representatives of the pro-Sharia TIRP would share 30% of the government, and TIRP was recognised as the first post-Soviet political party in