My research as an IREX U.S. Embassy Policy Specialist Fellow in Tajikistan, undertaken in July and August 2011, attempts to identify the underlying forces contributing to the changing trends in women’s dress in Tajikistan in order to contribute to the U.S. Embassy’s analysis of prospects for the country’s future. Specifically, I look at the growing pressure on women in Tajik society to wear the national costume and the Islamic hijab as well as the problems faced by women who choose to dress in Western-style clothing as a visual representation of the forces of nationalism, religiosity and liberalism competing to define the values of the population and the direction of the country.
Leslie Hough, of Yale University, was a 2011-2012 Embassy Policy Specialist (EPS) [8] fellow.
