Tajikistan

A landlocked, mountainous country in Central Asia, Tajikistan is bordered by China, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. It was part of the Soviet Union from 1929 until it gained independence in 1991. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Tajikistan plunged into civil war, which pitted communist forces against an alliance of Islamic and liberal democratic forces. The war ended with a peace agreement in 1997.¹

President Emomali Rahmon came to power during the civil war and was first elected president in 1994. He has been regularly re-elected since then under an increasingly authoritarian system. In 2015, he was declared ‘Founder of Peace and National Unity – Leader of the Nation’, entitling him to unlimited terms in office and lifelong immunity.² Under a political system dominated by the president and his family, Rahmon’s son, Rustam Emomali, is expected to succeed his father as President.³

The population of Tajikistan is close to 11 million,⁴ including those that live in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO). The country shares strong ethnic and cultural ties with Iran, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan. Over 90% of Tajikistanis are reported to be Muslim. The vast majority of Tajikistani Muslims adhere to the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam, while a small Shia minority lives mainly in the GBAO. The remainder of the population is predominantly Christian, with Russian Orthodoxy the largest denomination. There are also small numbers of Jews, Baha’is, Buddhists, and Zoroastrians in the country.⁵

Tajikistan is a member state of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Constitution and government

Tajikistan’s Constitution defines it as a secular state that does not promote any particular religion or belief. It declares that religious organizations are separate from the state and cannot interfere with state affairs. Article 26 states that every person has the right to determine their own religion or belief, to profess any religion individually or together with others or not to profess any, and to take part in religious customs and ceremonies.⁶

In 2019, the Tajikistani authorities designated the National Alliance of Tajikistan, a coalition of opposition figures based abroad, as a “terrorist organization.” This followed the 2015 ban on the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), formerly the country’s main opposition party, which had also been designated a “terrorist organization.” Hundreds of IRPT members were subsequently arrested and imprisoned. The following year, constitutional amendments, including changes to Article 8, explicitly prohibited religious political parties, effectively removing any legal route for the IRPT to re-enter politics.⁷

The Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations Act (2009)⁸ recognizes the special role of the Hanafi school of Islam in the development of Tajikistan’s national culture and spiritual life. It also guarantees the right to choose, disseminate, and change one’s religion or belief. It prohibits incitement to religious hatred and insults against the religious or atheistic feelings of citizens.

However, the law imposes significant restrictions on religious groups, including a ban on a wide range of activities by unregistered religious groups, strict limits on the number of mosques that can be established in a given area, and tight controls on the publication, importation, and distribution of religious literature.

Despite Tajikistan’s constitutional commitment to secularism, the Islamic Council of Tajikistan, known as the Ulama Council, is closely linked to the government. The Council issues fatwas which dictate acceptable Islamic practice in the country and provides instruction to religious groups. Friday sermon texts are provided to state-paid imams, who read them alongside presidential announcements. The Centre for Islamic Studies, a research institution within the Executive Office of the President, contributes to the development of government policy on religion, while the government is also responsible for organizing all hajj and umrah pilgrimages to Mecca.⁹

The government’s position is clear: public expressions of Islam are tolerated only when they conform to the state-sanctioned interpretation of Hanafi Islam. This is reflected in crackdowns on women wearing hijabs and men with long beards.

The State Committee for Religious Affairs and Regulation of Traditions, Ceremonies and Rituals oversees religious organizations. It runs training courses for imams and religious leaders and is also reported to be involved in their appointment and removal.¹⁰

Religious controls and alleged counter-terrorism

The Tajik authorities claim that the control they exert over religious groups is necessary to maintain national security. As such, mosques have been shut down and Muslims arrested and detained for not practising Islam in the manner promoted by the government. Imams trained abroad by those the government does not deem “suitable” have been banned from preaching in Tajikistan.¹¹ According to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief following her 2023 visit to the country,

“The Government exercises broad discretion with regard to denying applications and stripping religious organizations of their registration. In 2011 and 2012, amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences and the Criminal Code set new penalties, including heavy fines and long prison terms for religion-related charges such as organizing or participating in “unapproved” religious meetings.“¹²

The authorities have also reportedly sought to silence opposition activity abroad by pressuring relatives of activists inside Tajikistan. In particular, former IRPT members and their families have continued to face intimidation, detention, and violence since the party was banned in 2015.¹³

Minority groups

There are many ethnic minority groups in Tajikistan, a number of which face discrimination and marginalization. This includes Uzbeks, who are the largest minority group. All minority religious groups must apply for registration with the government and report annually on all their activities and finances.¹⁴

Pamiri Ismaili Muslims, who live predominantly in the remote Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO), face persecution and strict control by the authorities. Their demands for local autonomy have been suppressed, and the expression of their distinct identity – including language, culture, and religious practice – is heavily restricted. They are prohibited from praying collectively in their homes, and there are only two sites in the country where they are permitted to do so. Following a military crackdown on protests in 2022, Pamiri institutions, including schools, were shut down. Internet blackouts and reprisals against journalists and human rights defenders also severely limit the population’s access to information.¹⁵

Despite being unable to operate openly, Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to meet privately in Tajikistan. Members have reported raids on homes used for worship, harassment, detention, and mistreatment by the authorities. The community has been banned since 2007 for alleged proselytization.¹⁶

Education and children’s rights

Under the 2024 Law on Responsibility for the Education and Upbringing of a Child,¹⁷ the government of Tajikistan severely restricts children’s participation in public religious activities and their access to religious education. In general, children are not allowed to enter mosques or participate in religious ceremonies, except for funerals. Religious education is permitted only through authorized programs or approved institutions. The authorities claim such restrictions are necessary to tackle religious “extremism.”¹⁸

Tajikistan’s 2009 Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations restricts the teaching of religious education to licensed religious education institutions and registered religious organizations. The law states that parents may only teach religion to their children at home if the children express a desire to learn. Children aged seven to 18 are allowed to receive religious instruction outside of school hours, but only with written parental consent.¹⁹

Child Marriage

Although the rate of child and forced marriage is steadily decreasing in Tajikistan due to efforts by civil society and the government, the number remains high. The minimum age of marriage is 18, yet it can be reduced by one year following a court decision. However, many religious marriages, known as nikokh, are not officially registered. Reports indicate that higher rates of child marriage are recorded in more religiously conservative regions. Therefore, governmental prevention initiatives, and non-governmental programs, typically involve and prioritize working with local religious leaders.²⁰

Family, Community and Society

Women’s rights

Women face widespread discrimination in Tajikistan and, in particular, high levels of gender-based violence. Social pressure on women is exacerbated by the high numbers of men leaving the country to work abroad, especially to Russia and Kazakhstan.

The government’s nationalist ideology instrumentalizes women by treating their appearance as a means of control and persuasion. By promoting and enforcing “traditional Tajik” clothing over overtly Islamic dress or European clothing, the authorities seek to impose their interpretation of Islam and control any forms of expressions they deem, on the one hand, “extremist” or “foreign” and, on the other, “immodest” or “unvirtuous.”²¹ In 2024, amendments to the Law on the Organization of Celebrations and Ceremonies explicitly banned the import, sale, marketing, and wearing of clothing deemed “alien to national culture,” with offenders liable to a fine.²² The Ulama Council has also banned women from worshipping in mosques, requiring them to pray only at home.²³

LGBTI+ rights

Although same-sex sexual activity was decriminalized in 1998, homophobia remains widespread. There are no legal provisions to protect the LGBTI+ community from discrimination. LGBTI+ people face physical and psychological abuse and are often subjected to police raids, detention, and harassment, as well as threats of public beatings by community members. Law enforcement officials have been accused of extorting money by threatening to disclose people’s sexual orientation to their employers or families. LGBTI+ people have been forced to undergo HIV tests, and the authorities reportedly still maintain a register of gay and lesbian people in order to “prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted infections.”²⁴

Tajikistani authorities perpetuate stigma and discrimination by portraying LGBTI+ people as contrary to the values and culture of the country. LGBTI+ Tajikistanis report that homophobia is increasing in society due to a growing influence of religion and “traditional values,” as well as the influence of Russian propaganda. Many report having been taken to religious leaders by their families in a bid to “cure” them, and religious leaders have publicly condemned homosexuality.²⁵

Attitudes towards the non-religious

At the time of independence, non-religious views were common after an era of Soviet state secularism and restrictions on religious life. Since then, the country has become increasingly religious, albeit still strictly controlled, and overt irreligiosity is generally frowned upon in society. The non-religious now tend to keep a low profile. According to one account, atheists risk being attacked for sharing their views.²⁶

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

Dominated by an increasingly authoritarian regime, freedom of expression and association in Tajikistan is severely limited. Political opposition has become almost impossible, with members of opposition movements held in prison under lengthy sentences and tortured. Groups representing women, racial or religious minorities, or LGBTI+ people are not permitted to organize to advance their rights.²⁷

The provisions in the Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations Act prohibiting incitement to religious hatred, and those of the Criminal Code prohibiting incitement of social, racial, national, regional, or religious hatred or enmity, are used by the government to prosecute unauthorized speech. Journalists and human rights defenders who seek to expose issues deemed sensitive face serious threats to themselves and their families, and several journalists and civil society activists have also received lengthy prison terms. Last year, two Tajikistani asylum seekers in Europe were both deported to face prison sentences in Tajikistan for their political and social media activities. While, “liking” critical social media posts was decriminalized in 2025, the government continues close surveillance of both traditional and social media and censors critical content.²⁸

“Blasphemy” law

The wording of the 2009 Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations Act theoretically protects both religious and non-religious people and prohibits acts that insult the religious or atheistic feelings of citizens. Article 189 of Tajikistan’s Criminal Code²⁹ punishes actions aimed at inciting religious hatred or belittling religious dignity. Penalties vary depending on whether the act was committed publicly, via the internet, or by a group. Article 86 of the Administrative Offenses Code³⁰ prohibits insulting the religious feelings of citizens or destroying objects, signs, and symbols used in worship.

In practice, however, the provisions in these laws have been used to target, arrest, and detain members of minority religious groups on allegations of “inciting religious hatred” or “extremism.”

In February 2019, Jehovah’s Witness Shamil Khakimov was arrested and later sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for allegedly “inciting religious hatred” following raids on Jehovah’s Witness homes and the seizure of religious materials. Although the offence under which he was convicted was decriminalized in December 2020, he remained imprisoned until May 2023. During his detention, he was repeatedly denied or delayed access to necessary medical care despite serious health problems.³¹ In July 2017, Protestant pastor Bakhrom Kholmatov was sentenced to three years in prison for allegedly “singing extremist songs in church” and inciting religious hatred. Authorities also reportedly threatened his family, friends, and church members with reprisals if they disclosed details of the case, trial, or imprisonment.³² Jehovah’s Witnesses have also been imprisoned for conscientious objection to military service, including cases in which refusal to wear a military uniform or take the military oath was treated as evasion of military service.³³

1. “Tajikistan”, Britannica, accessed 18 May 2026 https://www.britannica.com/place/Tajikistan [↩]
2. Human Rights Council, Fifty-fifth session, 26 February–5 April 2024, A/HRC/55/47/Add.1, Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief,18 January 2024, https://docs.un.org/en/a/hrc/55/47/add.1 [↩]
3. Kamila Ibragimova, “ Tajikistan: President’s son adopts growing role on center stage”, Eurasianet, 17 February 2022 https://eurasianet.org/tajikistan-presidents-son-adopts-growing-role-on-center-stage [↩]
4. “Tajikistan Population (2026)”, Worldometer, accessed 18 May 2026 https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/tajikistan-population/ [↩]
5. Human Rights Council, Fifty-fifth session, 26 February–5 April 2024, A/HRC/55/47/Add.1, Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief,18 January 2024, https://docs.un.org/en/a/hrc/55/47/add.1 [↩]
6. Constitution of the Republic of Tajikistan, 6 November 1994 https://www.president.tj/constitution [↩]
7. “Tajikistan” chapter in Freedom in the World, (Freedom House, 2024) https://freedomhouse.org/country/tajikistan/freedom-world/2024;
   United Nations Office of the High Commissioner, “Preliminary observations by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Mr. David Kaye at the end of his visit to Tajikistan”, 9 March 2016 https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2016/03/preliminary-observations-united-nations-special-rapporteur-right?LangID=E&NewsID=17193[↩]
8. Law of the Republic of Tajikistan on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations, 26 March 2009 https://mmk.tj/content/%D2%9B%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%83%D0%BD%D0%B8-%D2%B7%D1%83%D0%BC%D2%B3%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B8-%D1%82%D0%BE%D2%B7%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BD-%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%80-%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B8-%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%B8-%D0%B2%D0%B8%D2%B7%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BD-%D0%B2%D0%B0-%D0%B8%D1%82%D1%82%D0%B8%D2%B3%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%8F%D2%B3%D0%BE%D0%B8-%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D3%A3 [Tajik]
   https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/tjk_e/wtacctjk26_leg_6.pdf [English]
   [↩]
9. Human Rights Council, Fifty-fifth session, 26 February–5 April 2024, A/HRC/55/47/Add.1, Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, 18 January 2024, https://docs.un.org/en/a/hrc/55/47/add.1 [↩]
10. Human Rights Council, Fifty-fifth session, 26 February–5 April 2024, A/HRC/55/47/Add.1, Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, 18 January 2024, https://docs.un.org/en/a/hrc/55/47/add.1 [↩]
11. Farangis Najibullah, “Tajikistan Targets Unsanctioned Foreign-Educated Clerics For Firing To ‘Prevent Extremism’”, RadioFreeEurope, 6 November 2017 https://www.rferl.org/a/tajikistan-foreign-educated-clerics-prevent-extremism-firing/28838303.html [↩]
12. Human Rights Council, Fifty-fifth session, 26 February–5 April 2024, A/HRC/55/47/Add.1, Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, 18 January 2024, https://docs.un.org/en/a/hrc/55/47/add.1 [↩]
13. Ilya Lozovsky, “The Death of Tajikistan’s Islamic Renaissance”, OCCRP, 5 June 2018 https://www.occrp.org/en/project/tajikistan-money-by-marriage/the-death-of-tajikistans-islamic-renaissance;
    “Tajikistan” chapter in Freedom in the World, (Freedom House, 2024) https://freedomhouse.org/country/tajikistan/freedom-world/2024[↩]
14. Human Rights Council, Fifty-fifth session, 26 February–5 April 2024, A/HRC/55/47/Add.1, Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, 18 January 2024, https://docs.un.org/en/a/hrc/55/47/add.1 [↩]
15. “Tajikistan”, Minority Rights Group, last updated March 2023 https://minorityrights.org/country/tajikistan/;
    “Tajikistan” chapter in Freedom in the World, (Freedom House, 2024) https://freedomhouse.org/country/tajikistan/freedom-world/2024 [↩]
16. “Tajikistan”, Minority Rights Group, last updated March 2023 https://minorityrights.org/country/tajikistan/ [↩]
17. Law on Responsibility for the Education and Upbringing of a Child, 2024 https://khovar.tj/2024/06/onuni-um-urii-to-ikiston-dar-borai-masuliyat-baroi-talimu-tarbiyai-k-dak-2/ [↩]
18. “Tajikistan” chapter in United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2026 Annual Report, (USCIRF, 2026) https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2026-03/USCIRF%202026%20Annual%20Report%20Tajikistan.pdf [↩]
19. Human Rights Council, Fifty-fifth session, 26 February–5 April 2024, A/HRC/55/47/Add.1, Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, 18 January 2024, https://docs.un.org/en/a/hrc/55/47/add.1 [↩]
20. Niaz Youssefian, “Child Marriage in Tajikistan: Multi-sector solutions gain momentum”, The Borgen Project, accessed 26 May 2026 https://borgenproject.org/child-marriage-in-tajikistan/;
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21. Hélène Thibault, Female Virtue, Religion and State Ideology in Tajikistan, CERIA Brief No.10 (Central Asia Program, 2016) https://centralasiaprogram.org/publications-all/female-virtue-religion-and-state-ideology-in-tajikistan/ [↩]
22. Law of the Republic of Tajikistan on the Organization of Celebrations and Ceremonies in the Republic of Tajikistan, 20 June 2024 https://mmk.tj/content/%D2%9B%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%83%D0%BD%D0%B8-%D2%B7%D1%83%D0%BC%D2%B3%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B8-%D1%82%D0%BE%D2%B7%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BD-%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%80-%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B8-%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B7%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B8-%D2%B7%D0%B0%D1%88%D0%BD%D1%83-%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BC-%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%80-%D2%B7%D1%83%D0%BC%D2%B3%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B8-%D1%82%D0%BE%D2%B7%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BD [↩]
23. Human Rights Council, Fifty-fifth session, 26 February–5 April 2024, A/HRC/55/47/Add.1, Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, 18 January 2024, https://docs.un.org/en/a/hrc/55/47/add.1 [↩]
24. “Tajikistan authorities draw up list of gay and lesbian citizens”, The Guardian, 17 October 2017 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/17/tajikistan-gay-lesbian-register-medical-checks [↩]
25. International Partnership for Human Rights, LGBTIQ Persons in Tajikistan Systematically Denied Human Rights, (2024, IPHR) https://iphronline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/tajikistan-lgbt-report-2024-eng.pdf [↩]
26. “In Tajikistan, youth perceive atheists as enemies of religion”, Central Asian Bureau for Analytical Reporting, 28 August 2018 https://cabar.asia/en/in-tajikistan-youth-perceive-atheists-as-enemies-of-religion [↩]
27. “Tajikistan” chapter in Freedom in the World, (Freedom House, 2024) https://freedomhouse.org/country/tajikistan/freedom-world/2024 [↩]
28. “Tajikistan”, Reporters Without Borders, accessed 28 May 2026 https://rsf.org/en/country/tajikistan;
    “Tajikistan” chapter in Amnesty International Report 2025, (Amnesty International, 2025) https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/europe-and-central-asia/eastern-europe-and-central-asia/tajikistan/report-tajikistan/[↩]
29. Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan, May 1998 https://mmk.tj/content/%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B8-%D2%B7%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%8F%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B8-%D2%B7%D1%83%D0%BC%D2%B3%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B8-%D1%82%D0%BE%D2%B7%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BD [↩]
30. Administrative Offenses Code of the Republic of Tajikistan, December 2008 https://mmk.tj/content/%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B8-%D2%B3%D1%83%D2%9B%D1%83%D2%9B%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BA%D1%83%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B8-%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%8A%D0%BC%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B8-%D2%B7%D1%83%D0%BC%D2%B3%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B8-%D1%82%D0%BE%D2%B7%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BD [↩]
31. “USCIRF Welcomes Tajikistan’s Release of Shamil Khakimov and Calls for U.S. Policy Action”, USCIRF, 17 May 2023 https://www.uscirf.gov/release-statements/uscirf-welcomes-tajikistans-release-shamil-khakimov-and-calls-us-policy-action [↩]
32. Mushfig Bayram, “Tajikistan: Protestant Pastor jailed for three years”, Forum 18, 20 July 2017 https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2298 [↩]
33. Information on Conscientious Objection to Military Service involving Jehovah’s Witnesses, Contribution for the OHCHR Quadrennial Analytical Report on Conscientious Objection to Military Service, Office of Public Information, World Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 21 March 2022 https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/OPIJW-HRC50.pdf [↩]