New demonstration in front of the Tajikistan embassy in Istanbul

For the second time, a group of Turkish youth is holding a demonstration in front of the Embassy of Tajikistan in Turkey.

A group of Turkish youth under the slogan “OpenRafah” held a demonstration in front of the General Consulate of Tajikistan in Istanbul on July 6 to protest against the law banning the wearing of hijabs in Tajikistan.

The participants of the demonstration raised photographs of injured and killed Palestinian women and children, labeled these photographs with the names of well-known Israeli companies, and called on Muslims not to buy clothing and food from these well-known Israeli companies. They also stated that they gathered to protest against the ban on hijabs, azan (call to prayer), and “Idgardak” – children’s celebrations on the occasion of the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

The participants of the demonstration compared the authorities of Tajikistan to the Israeli government “in the killing of children and the oppression of Muslims” and stated that “the situation in Tajikistan is no less severe than the situation in Palestine.”

Ali Aktash, one of the organizers of this demonstration, told local media that “for many years, there have been bans in Tajikistan on wearing hijabs, conducting religious holidays and traditions, allowing youth and children to visit mosques, wearing beards, loud azan, restrictions on pilgrimage, and teaching the Quran; in general, there is pressure on Islam and Muslims.”

Representatives of the General Consulate of Tajikistan in Istanbul or the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs have not yet responded to these protests.

After President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon signed the law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On the Regulation of Celebrations and Rituals in the Republic of Tajikistan,” thereby legalizing the ban on wearing hijabs, it caused a wide resonance both in the country and beyond.

A large group of religious figures and civil activists declared Friday as “Hijab Day” in Tajikistan and called on Tajik men and women to take to the streets in protest against the authorities’ repression of women in hijabs and to hold demonstrations, demanding that the government repeal the harsh law banning the wearing of hijabs and beards.

On May 31 of this year, the League of Muslim Scholars based in Istanbul condemned the law banning the wearing of hijabs in Tajikistan. The League of Muslim Scholars noted that Tajikistan’s law prohibiting the wearing of hijabs is “a blatant violation of Islamic law,” stating that wearing hijabs is obligatory (fard) and no one has the right to prohibit women from wearing hijabs. The League of Muslim Scholars called on the authorities of Tajikistan to repeal the harsh and unjust law.