Tajikistan

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Tajikistan plunged into civil war, which ended in 1997. In spite of some developments and laws passed on domestic violence and agreeing on an International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which eliminated the death penalty, the current government which, now in its fourth consecutive term, still enforces a repressive law on religion and restricts media freedom and civil society groups. Tajikistan is a member state of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Constitution and government Education and children’s rights Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
Expression of core humanist principles on democracy, freedom or human rights is severely restricted
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general
Some concerns about children's right to specifically religious freedom
There is significant social marginalisation of the non-religious or stigma associated with expressing atheism, humanism or secularism
Some concerns about political or media freedoms, not specific to the non-religious
Concerns that secular or religious authorities interfere in specifically religious freedoms
Constitution and government
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general
Education and children’s rights
Some concerns about children's right to specifically religious freedom
Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals
There is significant social marginalisation of the non-religious or stigma associated with expressing atheism, humanism or secularism
Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
Expression of core humanist principles on democracy, freedom or human rights is severely restricted
Some concerns about political or media freedoms, not specific to the non-religious
Concerns that secular or religious authorities interfere in specifically religious freedoms
Use of Conscientious Objection clauses resulting in the denial of lawful services to women and LGBTI+ people
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in all or most state-funded schools with no secular or humanist alternative
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: Kazakhstan

The state is secular, with separation of religious and political authorities, not discriminating against any religion or belief
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
No fundamental restrictions on freedom of expression or advocacy of humanist values
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

No condition holds in this strand
No condition holds in this strand

Countries: Andorra

No condition holds in this strand
Religious courts or tribunals rule directly on some family or ‘moral’ matters; it is legally an opt-in system, but the possibility of social coercion is very clear
No condition holds in this strand

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

Localised or infrequent but recurring and widespread social marginalisation or prejudice against the non-religious

This condition is unusual in that it is applied in cases where there is some social discrimination, but it is not pervasive or nationwide. This condition is applied when there is sufficient background evidence to warrant the assertion that discrimination is not anomalous but widespread, and this condition may be applied for example even where if there is no legislative discrimination or where the non-religious may have legal recourse against such discrimination. However, societal discrimination (i.e. discrimination by peers, as opposed to state or legal discrimination) is not easily measured, and for this reason the Report does not currently have similar more severe boundary conditions to capture higher levels of social discrimination per se. In principle these may be introduced in future. However, we consider that countries with actual higher levels of social discrimination against the non-religious will generally already meet other higher level (more severe) boundary conditions under this thematic strand.

Countries: Botswana, Greece, Serbia, United States of America

The dominant influence of religion in public life undermines the right to equality and/or non-discrimination

Applied when the influence of religion on public life undermines others’ rights, such as SRHR, women’s rights, LGBTI+ rights.

May be applied when the influence is overt (i.e. when religious laws are applied to undermine others’ rights) or covert (i.e. where religious pressure groups exert influence to affect policy)

Countries: Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brunei Darussalam, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Croatia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eswatini, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Liberia, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Oman, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Zambia

The non-religious are persecuted socially or there are prohibitive social taboos against atheism, humanism or secularism
Complete tyranny precludes all freedoms of expression and thought, religion or belief

Applied when overriding acts of oppression by the State are extreme, to the extent that the question of freedom of thought and expression is almost redundant, because all human rights and freedoms are quashed by authorities.

Countries: North Korea

Expression of core Humanist principles on democracy, freedom and human rights is brutally repressed
Expression of non-religious views is severely persecuted, or is rendered almost impossible by severe social stigma, or is highly likely to be met with hatred or violence
There is significant social marginalisation of the non-religious or stigma associated with expressing atheism, humanism or secularism
Religious or ideological indoctrination is utterly pervasive in schools
There is a nominal state church with few privileges or progress is being made toward disestablishment

Countries: Bulgaria, Norway, Peru, Rwanda

The non-religious are barred from some government offices (including posts reserved for particular religions or sects)
‘Apostasy’ is outlawed and punishable with a prison sentence

Countries: Bahrain, Comoros, Jordan, Kuwait

‘Apostasy’ or conversion from a specific religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Some religious courts rule in civil or family matters on a coercive or discriminatory basis
Religious authorities have supreme authority over the state

Countries: Iran

State legislation is partly derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general

This condition is applied where there are miscellaneous indicators that organs of the state offer various forms of support for a religion, or to religion in general over non-religious worldviews, suggesting a preference for those beliefs, or that the organs of that religion are privileged.

Countries: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burundi, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zimbabwe

There is a pattern of impunity or collusion in violence by non-state actors against the nonreligious
State-funded schools provide religious education which may be nominally comprehensive but is substantively biased or borderline confessional
Religious or ideological instruction in a significant number of schools is of a coercive fundamentalist or extremist variety

This condition highlights countries where schools subject children to fundamentalist religious instruction with no real opportunity to question fundamentalist tenets, or where lessons routinely encourage hatred (for example religious or ethnic hatred). The wording “significant number of schools” is not given a rigid quantification (sometimes the worst-offending schools are unregistered, illegal, or otherwise uncounted); however the condition is not applied in cases where only a small number of schools meet the description and may be anomalous, as opposed to being indicative of a widespread problem.

Countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia

State legislation is largely or entirely derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Anomalous discrimination by local or provincial authorities, or overseas territories
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in at least some public schools (without secular or humanist alternatives)
‘Blasphemy’ or criticism of religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Government figures or state agencies openly marginalize, harass, or incite hatred or violence against the non-religious
Government authorities push a socially conservative, religiously or ideologically inspired agenda, without regard to the rights of those with progressive views
It is illegal to advocate secularism or church-state separation, or such advocacy is suppressed
Prohibitive interreligious social control (including interreligious marriage bans)
Quasi-divine veneration of a ruling elite is enforced, or a single-party regime holds uncontested power, subject to severe punishment
Legal or constitutional provisions exclude non-religious views from freedom of belief
It is illegal to register an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization, or such groups are persecuted by authorities
There is a religious tax or tithing which is compulsory, or which is state-administered and discriminates by precluding non-religious groups
The non-religious are barred from holding government office
Some concerns about children's right to specifically religious freedom

This condition may apply if specifically religious education, religious materials, or specific religious denominations are so tightly controlled that children are in fact over-protected from exposure to religion and are likely unable to explore or construct their own worldview in accordance with their evolving capacities. This condition helps us to classify states (perhaps with secular constitutions) which have criminalized specifically religious beliefs or practices. This condition is not applied if the restricted beliefs or practices are found to be outlawed due to their being of an extremist variety. While this condition does not directly reflect discrimination against non-religious persons or non-religious ideas, it does represent an overall threat to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief; such restrictions could spill over to affect non-religious beliefs later; and they pose a risk of backlash against over-zealous secular authorities or even against non-religious individuals by association.

Countries: China, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guyana, Italy, Kazakhstan, Laos, Madagascar, Mexico, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe

It is illegal or unrecognised to identify as an atheist or as non-religious
It is made difficult to register or operate an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization
Legend
 
Severe Discrimination
Systemic Discrimination
Mostly Satisfactory
More information about rating table

Constitution and government

The secular constitution of Tajikistan theoretically protects freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as well as freedom of expression, assembly and association. However, the laws and policies restrict and violate these freedoms.

There is no official state religion. However, the government recognises the ‘special status’ of Islam. The law tightly regulates and restricts religious freedom and how religious organizations may operate.

Religious controls

The government is steadily tightening state controls on religion. For example, the Parental Responsibility law, which President Emomali Rahmon signed in August 2011, stipulates that parents must prevent their children from participating in religious activity, except for state-sanctioned religious education, until they are 18 years old. (See “Education and children’s rights, below.)

“Authorities added further punishments, through changes to the administrative code that were enacted in July, for violating Tajikistan’s restrictive religion law and increased the powers of the State Committee for Religious Affairs to administer punishments without investigation by police or prosecutors. The new provisions impose significant fines on those violating the religion law’s tight restrictions on sending citizens abroad for religious education, teaching religious doctrines, and establishing ties with religious groups overseas.”
<hrw.org/world-report/2014/country-chapters/tajikistan?page=2>

The government also tightly controls the publication, importation, and distribution of religious literature. The law against “inciting national, racial, regional, and religious hatred” is used by the government to prosecute unauthorised speech. As a result, despite constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech, the press, civil society groups and independent journalists face harassment and intimidation. In 2012, Tajikistan witnessed further restrictions on media freedoms when authorities frequently blocked access to critical websites, and continued to intimidate journalists. While in July, decriminalization of libel was a step towards freedom of speech, the new legislation retained criminal sanctions for insulting the president.

The Government has also debated banning religiously themed names, particularly those of Arabic origin.

Education and children’s rights

In order, it says, to tackle religious “fundamentalism”, the government of Tajikistan extensively restricts religious education and controls all areas of religious activity related to children. While these restrictions cannot be said to suppress learning about non-religious worldviews or atheistic ideas, they are usually regarded as over-protecting children from exposure to religious beliefs and as suppressing the freedom of religion or belief of parents.

Religious instruction of children is tightly controlled. The 2009 Religion Law prohibits private religious education. State permission and registration is required for an institution or organization to provide religious instruction. Both parents must provide written permission for a child to receive such instruction.
<forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2138>

The Parental Responsibility Law came into effect in August 2011. The law almost completely bans children’s participation in religious activities, including mosque attendance and participation in funerals, but permits participation in approved religious education. The law also restricts children’s religious dress and limits parents’ choice of their children’s names.
<uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2012ARChapters/tajikistan%202012.pdf>

Family, Community and Society

Against “extremism”

The government is taking measures to prevent individuals from joining or participating in what it labeled as “extremist” organizations. The government has previously arrested or detained more than 220 people on extremism charges as “Salafis” or ISIS supporters.

In November 2017, Abdumalik Salomov, a prominent Tajik surgeon, was found guilty of “participation in the activities of extremist associations or other organizations banned by courts” and was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison.
<interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=793149>

Numonkhon Otaev, an imam-khatib, was detained for possessing unregistered religious books after security officers searched his home and confiscated 300 books. News outlets reported that Otaev was a well-known religious leader and scholar with no connections to extremist groups.

Furthermore, NGOs have refused to register religious groups on technical or administrative grounds. Without registration, groups risk criminal or civil penalties. Jehovah’s Witnesses are deemed as an extremist organization and therefore are banned. Generally, both registered and unregistered religious organizations are subject to police raids, surveillance, and forced closures.

There have been recurring episodes of harassment towards women wearing hijabs and men with beards. Authorities reported that since 2015, police officers and other authorities have been attempting to dissuade individuals from wearing “alien clothing”. In July 2017, the Committee on Women and Family launched a campaign against “indecent clothing alien to the national culture and religion”.
<state.gov/documents/organization/281280.pdf>

Backlash against a lone atheist voice

Despite state restrictions on specifically religious belief, overt irreligiosity is not common and may be socially maligned.

In September 2017, Farangis, a 21-year-old resident of Dushanbe who participated in an interview for a radio station, claimed that due to pressure from acquaintances and friends, her atheism made her life difficult. On social media, many accused her of trying to propagate atheism.

LGBTI+ discrimination

Although same-sex sexual activity was decriminalized in 1998, due to traditional beliefs and the strong influence of religion on society, homophobia is still widespread. Members of the LGBT community face physical and psychological abuse.
<theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/01/what-its-like-to-be-gay-in-tajikistan/251888/>

There is no law against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. LGBT people are often victims of police harassment and face threats of public beatings by community members. Law enforcement officials have been accused of extorting money by threatening to tell their employers or families about their sexuality.
<state.gov/documents/organization/277539.pdf>

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

The authorities significantly restrict freedom of assembly and association. Public meetings and demonstrations must receive prior approval from local authorities, and approval is routinely denied.

Beginning in March 2013, authorities ordered internet providers on several occasions to block access to independent local and international news and social networking sites. Following the publication of a critical article, the government blocked the Russian analysis site zvezda.ru. Three news sites that subsequently published the article were also blocked, as was Facebook, following user discussions deemed overly critical of the government.

The Government continues to hold over 150 journalists and lawyers in prison as part of a 2015 crackdown on freedom of expression and association. The relatives of dissidents abroad who criticise the Government are subject to violent retaliation by Tajik officials.
<hrw.org/news/2017/11/07/eu-seek-stronger-central-asia-rights-commitments>