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Together on the Move: Organizing Among Tajik Migrants in Russia for Protection of Their Rights (Research Brief)

October 16, 2012
Author: 
Zamira Djabarova

Migration is one of the very few options that citizens of Tajikistan have to be employed; however, this option comes with abuses of their rights. Organizing is an important way through which migrants can support each other, stay informed about their rights and obligations, and advocate for better protection of their rights by holding duty-bearers accountable. Despite the potential benefits of unions to advocate for improved conditions, migrants from Tajikistan do not organize. Lack of an organizing culture in their home country, a fear of crackdown the host country, and the steep price of organizing (loss of a job or an inability to find one) are among the main reasons. Yet some forms of organizing exist and this paper tries to shed some light upon them.

Zamira Djabarova, of the United Nations Development Fund for Women, was a 2011-2012 Individual Advanced Research Opportunities (IARO) fellow.