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DUSHANBE – As Tajikistan's women search for a role in Islam, many are wrestling with Islam's role in modern society.
Salomat Halilova (left) teaches teenage girls the Koran and Arabic. [Rukhshona Ibragimova]
“When they say that women in Islam are uneducated, downtrodden creatures, they are wrong", said Zumrat Saidova, 24, a member of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (PIVT).
Saidova was not allowed to take the state exams at her university until she took off her hijab, she said. The Religion and Religious Associations Bill, adopted last March, prohibits prayer in the workplace, military and other secular institutions. The Tajik Education Ministry also prohibits girls and women from wearing the hijab in schools.
“We live in a secular state, and students must abide by this", an Education Ministry source said on the condition of anonymity. "They may wear the hijab in their free time, but within the walls of educational establishments, students should not stand out. We have introduced mandatory uniforms in secondary schools under the same terms".
Tajik National University Professor Bahriddin Kamoliddin expressed support for the authorities’ decision.
“I support the idea of women and men wearing formal clothes while studying or at work", he said. "Such is the practise the world over. We need to move forward, not backward. It sickens me that our little 3- and 4-year-old girls are dressed in hijabs".
For Saidova, however, the hijab is an expression of liberation.
"Women in modern Islam are educated, self-sufficient people who know their rights and duties", she said. "And we are trying to convey precisely this particular interpretation of modern Islam to people".
Zuhra Mirzodavlatova, like Saidova, wears the hijab voluntarily. She began when she married.
“My husband didn’t insist that I begin wearing a hijab or veil", said Mirzodavlatova, 23. "He himself is from a secular family".
Salomat Halilova, 22, teaches teenage girls Arabic. She could not find work in a secular business because she wears a hijab, she said.
“I am an economist ... but I did not have anywhere to work. They said, ‘You take off the hijab, you got a job’”, she said.
The controversy over the hajib is just one aspect of a larger struggle between religion and the state, political analyst Saimiddin Dustov said.
“The masses’ great enthusiasm for religion in authoritarian states is a form of protest", he said. "The country’s current leadership seeks to preserve its power, and, in its opinion, any revitalisation of Islam is harmful. Now it is orchestrating a number of measures to control the country’s religious component".
“According to my data, when the ban was introduced, there were only 26 students registered wearing the hijab in all the country’s universities", he said. "Was it worth making such a mess for this, for us to sabotage our investment image with the Islamic countries and the West?"
The ban will likely be temporary, PIVT Culture Department Head and planning committee member Zarafmo Hujayeva said.
“Despite our having a secular state, our society is still Muslim because more than 98% of the population are of the Islamic faith and they support us", she said.
Wearing the hijab is not a necessary component of Islam, however, theologian Umarali Nazarov said.
“You do not have to wear a hijab or veil to adhere to Sharia", he said. "Our people’s traditional clothes are enough, since these clothes cover the parts of the body Islamic canon requires".
One government official disagreed.
"You listen to (mullahs) speak, and while the PIVT claims that women and men are equal in Islam, our mullahs say something altogether different", a source at the State National Security Ministry said. "Moreover, there was once already an attempt to build an Islamic state in this country, and how did that turn out? Remember what started the civil war".
Interpretations of Islam that oppress women are misinterpretations, Hujayeva said.
“To understand Islam the way it actually exists, more knowledge is necessary", Hujayeva said. "Uneducated people who receive the slightest bit of knowledge of Islam from mullahs will preserve it like fine china and are ready to rush in fists first to protect their Islam, to protect those teachings hammered into their head by mullahs who do not always properly interpret the religion".
“Likewise, some uneducated mullahs give the wrong impression about women’s status in Islam", said Hujayeva. The role of women in Islam needs to be explained to mosque-goers after every Friday prayer, spiritual leader Hoja Akbar Turajonzoda said.
“Soon my book, ‘Women’s Status in Islam’, is coming out in Tajik", Turajonzoda said. "It details the position of Islam on all aspects of women’s rights. ... It will be useful for both women and men, and for those who lead a secular lifestyle".
Salomat Halilova (left) teaches teenage girls the Koran and Arabic. [Rukhshona Ibragimova]
“When they say that women in Islam are uneducated, downtrodden creatures, they are wrong", said Zumrat Saidova, 24, a member of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (PIVT).
Saidova was not allowed to take the state exams at her university until she took off her hijab, she said. The Religion and Religious Associations Bill, adopted last March, prohibits prayer in the workplace, military and other secular institutions. The Tajik Education Ministry also prohibits girls and women from wearing the hijab in schools.
“We live in a secular state, and students must abide by this", an Education Ministry source said on the condition of anonymity. "They may wear the hijab in their free time, but within the walls of educational establishments, students should not stand out. We have introduced mandatory uniforms in secondary schools under the same terms".
Tajik National University Professor Bahriddin Kamoliddin expressed support for the authorities’ decision.
“I support the idea of women and men wearing formal clothes while studying or at work", he said. "Such is the practise the world over. We need to move forward, not backward. It sickens me that our little 3- and 4-year-old girls are dressed in hijabs".
For Saidova, however, the hijab is an expression of liberation.
"Women in modern Islam are educated, self-sufficient people who know their rights and duties", she said. "And we are trying to convey precisely this particular interpretation of modern Islam to people".
Zuhra Mirzodavlatova, like Saidova, wears the hijab voluntarily. She began when she married.
“My husband didn’t insist that I begin wearing a hijab or veil", said Mirzodavlatova, 23. "He himself is from a secular family".
Salomat Halilova, 22, teaches teenage girls Arabic. She could not find work in a secular business because she wears a hijab, she said.
“I am an economist ... but I did not have anywhere to work. They said, ‘You take off the hijab, you got a job’”, she said.
The controversy over the hajib is just one aspect of a larger struggle between religion and the state, political analyst Saimiddin Dustov said.
“The masses’ great enthusiasm for religion in authoritarian states is a form of protest", he said. "The country’s current leadership seeks to preserve its power, and, in its opinion, any revitalisation of Islam is harmful. Now it is orchestrating a number of measures to control the country’s religious component".
“According to my data, when the ban was introduced, there were only 26 students registered wearing the hijab in all the country’s universities", he said. "Was it worth making such a mess for this, for us to sabotage our investment image with the Islamic countries and the West?"
The ban will likely be temporary, PIVT Culture Department Head and planning committee member Zarafmo Hujayeva said.
“Despite our having a secular state, our society is still Muslim because more than 98% of the population are of the Islamic faith and they support us", she said.
Wearing the hijab is not a necessary component of Islam, however, theologian Umarali Nazarov said.
“You do not have to wear a hijab or veil to adhere to Sharia", he said. "Our people’s traditional clothes are enough, since these clothes cover the parts of the body Islamic canon requires".
One government official disagreed.
"You listen to (mullahs) speak, and while the PIVT claims that women and men are equal in Islam, our mullahs say something altogether different", a source at the State National Security Ministry said. "Moreover, there was once already an attempt to build an Islamic state in this country, and how did that turn out? Remember what started the civil war".
Interpretations of Islam that oppress women are misinterpretations, Hujayeva said.
“To understand Islam the way it actually exists, more knowledge is necessary", Hujayeva said. "Uneducated people who receive the slightest bit of knowledge of Islam from mullahs will preserve it like fine china and are ready to rush in fists first to protect their Islam, to protect those teachings hammered into their head by mullahs who do not always properly interpret the religion".
“Likewise, some uneducated mullahs give the wrong impression about women’s status in Islam", said Hujayeva. The role of women in Islam needs to be explained to mosque-goers after every Friday prayer, spiritual leader Hoja Akbar Turajonzoda said.
“Soon my book, ‘Women’s Status in Islam’, is coming out in Tajik", Turajonzoda said. "It details the position of Islam on all aspects of women’s rights. ... It will be useful for both women and men, and for those who lead a secular lifestyle".
