VZCZCXRO5223
RR RUEHLN RUEHSK RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHDBU #0725/01 1611214
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101214Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0416
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0149
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 0918

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 000725 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KIRF KISL TI
SUBJECT: UNIVERSITY HIJAB BAN: STUDENTS SPEAK OUT, OFFER VIEWS ON 
U.S. FOREIGN POLICY 
 
REF: A. 08 DUSHANBE 1409 
     ¶B. DUSHANBE 704 
 
DUSHANBE 00000725  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Administrators at the National University of 
Tajikistan in Dushanbe recently expelled several students for 
failing to comply with a ban on wearing the hijab in class.  On 
May 28, EmbOffs spoke to four students -- two men and two 
 
women -- who criticized the government's heavy-handed tactics. 
Their comments corroborate past reporting (ref A) that the ban 
is having the opposite of its intended effect: instead of 
controlling religious expression, the government is merely 
creating resentment.  The students also offered their insights 
into U.S. foreign policy in the Islamic world.  End summary. 
 
 
 
"SEE WHAT YOUR GOD CAN DO ABOUT IT" 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) Two years ago the Ministry of Education ordered all 
public educational institutions to forbid students from wearing 
the hijab in class.  Emboffs recently spoke with four National 
University students who described how administrators are 
implementing the hijab ban.  Under University policy, women may 
wear the scarf on school grounds only if they tuck it behind 
their ears upon entering the campus.  Despite this order, four 
of the 13 women in the University's Oriental Studies Department 
continued to wear their hijabs over their ears.  In recent 
weeks, three of the four have been expelled for their refusal to 
comply with the administration's order.  The fourth -- one of 
the two women EmbOffs interviewed -- said she has not been 
expelled yet because the University's rector has not caught her 
in her hijab.  One of the students expelled in recent weeks had 
only one exam remaining until her graduation.  She offered to 
remove the hijab for the remainder of her studies, but the 
rector refused to reinstate her, saying "I will kick out [all 
women wearing a hijab] and see what your God can do" about it. 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) The two women we met both wear their hijabs in class in 
violation of the university's policy.  Their teachers do not 
support their decisions to cover their heads.  However, because 
the University rector has not caught the girls wearing their 
hijabs, they have not yet faced disciplinary proceedings. 
Though they fear they will eventually be kicked out, the women 
vowed not to remove their hijabs in deference to what they 
called an "unfair and undemocratic policy." 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) The women also recalled their fathers' initial 
opposition to their decision to wear the hijab.  The women 
argued that the hijab was an item of personal identity, and that 
wearing one made them feel more "pure."  Over time, the fathers 
accepted their daughters' decisions to wear hijabs.  In the 
words of one of the women, "my father told me it was better that 
I wear a hijab than a miniskirt." 
 
 
 
THE HIJAB AS EXPRESSION OF DEFIANCE 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) The female students said they wear the hijab out of 
personal preferences, not as a response to pressure or a desire 
to conform to the strictures of any particular group or sect. 
As one stated, "no one forced me [to wear the hijab].  I do it 
for myself, and no one should be able to take it away from me." 
The male students enthusiastically agreed, adding that they 
liked it when women wore their hijabs in school because it 
provided "less of a distraction" and allowed them to concentrate 
more on their studies. 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) All four students criticized the Tajik Government's 
claim that the hijab ban helped protect the country from Islamic 
extremism.  They expressed a belief that the ban was instead 
another means by which the government sought to control the 
religious activities and behavior of its citizens (ref B).  The 
students went on to claim that the government's ban on the hijab 
contradicts its claim to be democratic.  One of the women asked 
if Muslim women in America were allowed to wear a hijab to 
class.  When told that they could, she responded, "If that is 
true, then America is indeed a great democracy." 
 
 
 
DUSHANBE 00000725  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Students felt they lacked the power to do anything 
about their government's policies, and looked to the 
international community to help them.  They said their 
government would liberalize its stance on religious expression 
only if the international community pressured it to do so.  They 
explained that no group on their campus could successfully 
challenge the administration's policy because those students who 
confronted the university administration or the Ministry of 
Education would immediately be kicked out of school. 
 
 
 
AMERICA AND THE WORLD IN THE EYES OF THE STUDENTS 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Students expressed a range of views on other topics as 
well.  When asked which global conflicts they most identified 
with, the students indicated a particular concern for the 
Palestinians.  One of the women described the Palestinians as 
"the most suffering people on Earth."  Additionally, students 
expressed a degree of concern for the citizens of Iraq, 
Afghanistan, and Lebanon, but did not openly criticize past or 
present U.S. policy related to any of these countries or their 
people. 
 
 
 
¶9. (SBU) All four students acknowledged from the outset their 
personal resentment of the foreign policy of the past U.S. 
administration.  While one of the women said it is too early to 
know whether Muslims will prefer President Obama to his 
predecessor, the other three students were more positive.  One 
of the men expressed great hope for the new administration, 
citing the President's March 19 Navruz (Persian New Year) 
message and his "use of the words of the Prophet" as an 
indication that Muslims' image of the U.S. will likely improve. 
 
 
 
¶10. (SBU) Comment: While we must be careful in extrapolating 
from the views of such a small number of people, the students' 
comments corroborate Post's observations that the hijab ban and 
other restrictive measures on religious expression may be 
prompting more young people to turn against the undemocratic 
practices of their government.  The question remains, however, 
what students can do with their disaffection.  The four we 
interviewed voiced the same pessimism we regularly encounter 
about their ability to effect real change. 
 
End comment. 
JACOBSON