Who decides how women should look in Central Asia?
Who decides how women should look in Central Asia and why?
14.11.2025
Article published on the rus.azattyq.org website
Why are the clergy and secular authorities in Central Asian countries trying to control how women look?
No to Botox and tight-fitting clothes: Yes to dresses with wide trousers
During his recent Friday sermon, the Chairman of the Ulema Council, the Mufti of Tajikistan, Saidmukarram Abdulkodirzoda, launched a fierce criticism of the “fashion” for Botox, fillers and plastic surgery among women. A video of his speech posted on the Islamic Centre’s YouTube channel attracted tens of thousands of views.
The Mufti called cosmetic procedures “haram” (meaning “forbidden” in Islam) and called on believers to “improve their behaviour, not their appearance”. He condemned the craze for beauty injections and plastic surgery, saying that “the body is a gift entrusted by God” and that such actions “will have to be answered for in the afterlife”.
The Mufti’s rhetoric echoes broader State restrictions. Eighteen months ago, Tajikistan tightened its women’s clothing policy. In the spring of 2024, President Emomali Rahmon signed amendments to the law “On the Regulation of Traditions, Celebrations and Rituals”, effectively banning the import, promotion and sale of clothing that does not conform to traditional Tajik culture. Transgressions carry fines ranging from 7,920 to 57,600 somoni (the equivalent of $860 to $6,260 at current exchange rates).
The law does not list specific types of clothing but experts believe that the vague legal wording mainly applies to items that conform with Middle Eastern Islamic canons. The country has even coined the term “alien clothing”.
The media has reported cases where women in hijabs have not been allowed to enter medical centres until they tie their headscarves, “Tajik style”, in a knot at the back. Sometimes, the term “not in keeping with the national culture” also includes short skirts and tight tops.
In July last year, police officers detained two young women for Instagram posts in which they posed in short dresses, claiming that this “insulted the honour” of Turkmen women and mothers. After a “preventative” conversation, the girls were released, but photographs from their accounts were openly posted on the official law enforcement agency’s social media page, with their faces and personal information still visible.
Around the same time, the Ulema Council issued a fatwa against “black, tight-fitting and see-through clothing”, claiming it was “incompatible with Tajik national culture”.
“For centuries, Tajik women have worn clothing that is in keeping with Sharia law which takes local customs and patterns, as well as climatic factors, into account”, the fatwa says.
Religious leaders have decreed that women should wear their national costume – a dress with baggy trousers and a headscarf.
The Ministry of Culture subsequently published examples of traditional national clothing “recommended” for women and girls, even providing templates of how they should dress “in a way appropriate for their age” and for various occasions – whether for everyday life, work, holidays or when attending festivals and cultural events. While the focus was on “preserving national culture” independent analysts point out that such initiatives distract society from real life problems of poverty, unemployment and rising prices.
“When living standards are low and social problems on the rise, the emphasis on “moral appearance” becomes a convenient tool for the authorities”, said a sociologist from Dushanbe who didn’t want to be named. “It’s a form of social control disguised as a concern for morality. Moreover, the issue of how a woman looks becomes a means of exerting ideological influence, as does the fight against “alien clothing”.
Fines and dismissals for violating “Turkmenchilik Principles”
In Turkmenistan, women’s appearance is subject to Government regulation and much stricter control. After Serdar Berdimuhamedov took over as President in 2022 (having replaced his father Gurbanguly), women were banned from wearing bright make-up, dyeing their hair in light colours, getting eyelash and nail extensions and having Botox injections.
In 2023, police in the Turkmen city of Mary detained two women, accusing them of wearing “clothing inappropriate for Turkmen women”. They were taken to a police station and released after several hours of questioning, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Turkmen service – Azatlyk.
Witnesses to the incident heard the police telling the women “What you are wearing is an insult to Turkmen women. Look at your dress, half your chest is exposed”.
That same year, Azatlyk reported that women were not being allowed to board international flights for having enlarged lips and false eyelashes. Airport staff claimed that facial recognition technology “could not recognise them” due to their “distorted appearance”.
Responding to international criticism of the de facto ban on cosmetic procedures, Member of Parliament Serdar Arazov stated that the ban was “based on sanitary norms” and “has nothing to do with restricting women’s rights”.
“I think you were misinformed about the women’s appearance. We conducted a thorough review of the practice from a medical perspective which identified unsanitary environments and illegal cosmetic procedures”, said Azarov.
Meanwhile, police officers are continuing to carry out street checks, stopping women wearing “excessive make-up” or “inappropriate clothing”. Violations of “Turkmenchilik principles” (an unofficial and undefined code of conduct used by the authorities to control the appearance, lifestyle and even the personal habits of citizens, justified as a means of protecting “national identity and morality”) are punishable by fines and loss of employment. Dozens of women have reportedly lost their jobs with the national airline and railway services for having lip augmentation or breast implants.
The country’s legislation does not specify a list of “appropriate” or “inappropriate” clothing for Turkmen women, nor does it stipulate certain standards of behaviour in public places. Despite this, the authorities periodically tighten the country’s restrictive measures under the pretext of upholding so-called Turkmenchilik principles.
A way of controlling women under the guise of morality
Experts say that Government rhetoric in both Tajikistan and Turkmenistan boils down to protecting traditions and morality but it is really a way of controlling women and shifting public attention.
“When State or religious leaders discuss Botox and dresses, they avoid talking about unemployment, corruption and rising prices. It’s a tried and tested tactic. Under the pretext of protecting the State’s culture, they construct the ideal woman – obedient, modest and without a voice”, said Anora Sadykova, a sociologist from Dushanbe.
A gender activist who asked not to be named agrees, arguing that in a society where real economic problems are still unresolved, control over women’s behaviour and appearance becomes a convenient distraction.
Moreover, according to our interviewee, this established practice raises questions about double-standards and inequality between men and women in terms of how they look.
“Why is attention always focused on women? Men, including members of the khukumat and State authorities, also care about their appearance: they get manicures, dye their grey hair and fight baldness by having hair transplants. Yet, no-one ever condemns them for that. Why are they not told to wear traditional chapon coats and skullcaps? After all, isn’t that also part of our national culture! No, they put on a suit and tie which are “alien” to Tajiks. But when it comes to how a woman looks, words like “sin”, “shame”, or “alien culture” are immediately bandied about. It’s a way of controlling women under the guise of caring about morality”, she said.
Defending “traditions” as a regional trend
Elements of such control can also be seen in other Central Asian countries. In Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, open criticism of cosmetic practices is rare, but restrictions on women’s clothing and appearance are increasingly being imposed under the pretext of protecting national “traditions”. Fearful of the growing influence of Islam, secular authorities often use the issue of citizens’ appearance as an instrument for social and ideological control.
In August this year in Namangan in eastern Uzbekistan, the wives of Islamic clerics were instructed to wear headscarves in accordance with local customs – tying them in a knot at the back, rather than in Arab style. A ban on the niqab (a long Muslim garment that covers the body, hair and face, leaving only the eyes exposed) was introduced in Uzbekistan back in 2023. The State said the measure was needed to maintain public order and the operation of the Safe City video surveillance system. Those who break the law face a fine ranging from $400 to $800.
During the summer, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a law banning the wearing of face coverings in public places, including the niqab. At a national kurultai meeting in March he said “Rather than wearing black robes that conceal the face, it is much better to dress in national Kazakh style – it is harmonious and looks beautiful, especially on women”.
In neighbouring Kyrgyzstan a ban on the niqab came into force in January this year – the only exceptions being for clothing related to work, or on medical grounds. Those who break the law face a fine of around $230. Legislators say the law has been brought in for security reasons so that people’s faces are visible for identification purposes. However, critics point out that this restricts people’s freedom of choice of what to wear.
Kyrgyzstan remains the only country in the region where wearing a hijab is permitted in schools and offices. In other Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – it is banned in educational institutions, State agencies and Government buildings.
Reports by international organisations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom say that the authorities in Central Asia are tightening controls over the appearance, conduct and religious practices of citizens under the pretext of combating extremism.
