In early September, six million mobile phone users in Tajikistan received text messages telling them to “respect traditional clothes” and “make it a tradition to wear traditional clothes.” The messages, sent at the behest of the State Committee on Women’s and Family Affairs, are the latest stage in a government campaign to suppress Islamic clothing in the […]
‘Migrant rights and migrant hope: Amnesty International’s work in Central Asia’, 21 March, 17:30-18:30, Building One, Constantine Levantis Teaching Room. Large numbers of labour migrants leave Central Asia each year for work. Two of the three most migration-dependent economies of the world are in Central Asia. But many of these migrants are subject to abusive […]
Edil Baisalov, Kyrgyz Political Activist A Conversation about Islamic Radicalization in Central Asia 2.00-3.00pm, Wednesday 1 February Amory 142, University of Exeter Edil Baisalov is one of the most well-known political figures in Kyrgyzstan having been a prominent civil society activist and subsequently served in senior positions inside government. In 1999, he founded the Coalition […]
Yazgulom is a valley in the Pamirs with a population of 6,000 spread across five villages. The locals speak Yazgulomi, a language which is different to those of neighbouring valleys. The locals claim it is one of the oldest languages in the world and are proud of their Aryan heritage. Indeed many of the locals […]
During another life, famed Financial Times journalist and author of Fools Gold Gillian Tett wrote her PhD on gender relations in Tajikistan. As part of her research she spent a year living in a Tajik village during the late Soviet period. In a fascinating paper entitled “Guardians of the Faith? Gender and Religion in an […]