What does a female presidential candidate in Tajikistan tell us about gender equality?

The choice of Oinhol Bobonazarova, a lawyer and long-standing human rights campaigner, as the principal candidate of the opposition in […]

The Pretence of Elections

On November 6th there will be a presidential poll in Tajikistan. When any election campaign in Central Asia begins it […]

Political rights, financial liberties and Rahmon’s In-tray: Tajikistan after the 2013 presidential election

The re-election of President Rahmon, who has now been at the helm of government in Tajikistan for 21 years, to […]

New BBC Comedy on Central Asia: What impact do popular discourses have on public perceptions of the region?

Central Asia is frequently represented in popular culture as obscure, dangerous and oriental (See for example Heathershaw and Megoran, 2011). […]

Marrying Relatives in Yazgulom: Public Problem or Private Affair?

Yazgulom is a valley in the Pamirs with a population of 6,000 spread across five villages.  The locals speak Yazgulomi, […]

Contesting Patriarchy in Rural Tajikistan: Hidden Transcripts and Sharm

During another life, famed Financial Times journalist and author of Fools Gold Gillian Tett wrote her PhD on gender relations […]

Narrating Tajik History in the National Museum

Not far from the world’s tallest flagpole and the dormant Palace of Nations lies the newly opened Tajikistan National Museum. […]