Amnesty International recommends that the government of Tajikistan introduce laws and services to combat domestic violence in the nation. Violence against women is common in Central Asia, where many societies are patriarchal. In Tajikistan, the poorest former Soviet Republic, women have limited rights and employment opportunities. Many drop out of school at young ages to enter marriages that are often unregistered or polygamous.
Up to one million Tajik men travel abroad yearly to find seasonal work. Sometimes, they stop sending remittances or simply do not return home. BBC’s Central Asia correspondent Rayhan Demytrie says that this leaves their wives vulnerable to abuse by in-laws. Andrea Strasser-Camagni, Amnesty International’s Tajikistan expert, said that “[w]omen are being treated as servants or as the in-laws’ family property.”[1] With no one to turn to, many Tajik women are driven to commit suicide; relatives often cover up suicides by presenting them as accidents.
For more information, see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8375617.stm.
[1] “Amnesty: Nearly half of Tajik women ‘regularly abused’” BBC News (24 November 2009) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8375617.stm.
