Polygamy in Tajikistan

The law officially prohibits and criminally punishes bigamy and polygamy. But the lack of civil recognition of Islamic marriages and a vague definition of marital status create ambiguities that allow the phenomenon to persist. With women turning to the police when the man stops fulfilling his religious obligation to support all his wives.

Dushanbe (AsiaNews) - According to Tajikistan legislation, bigamy and polygamy are prohibited and must be criminally punishable. News periodically appears on the internet about the arrest by the police of men who live with several women, including cult servants, as happened some time ago, when an imam was found to be married with 13 wives. In that case, discussions on social networks multiplied, which continue in various waves to this day.

According to many commentators, the issue of polygamy is actually not well defined by Tajik law, as marriages celebrated under Islamic Shari'a are not considered valid on a civil level, and definitions of "civil" marriage are generally lacking. or “religious”, limiting themselves to registration at the municipal offices.

In the Criminal Code in art. 170 fines are established for bigamy or polygamy, in the amount of one thousand to two thousand somoni and more, or up to two years of compulsory social services, and in the most serious cases up to 5 years of deprivation of liberty.

The director of the Tajik association Pro Bono de Jure, the lawyer Dilafruz Samadova, commented on this situation in an Asia Plus report, recalling that there are different definitions regarding the marital status of women in Tajikistan.

Obviously "all adults of age have the right to have free relationships, whether with lovers, friends, colleagues or simple acquaintances, always with both consenting". The art. 170 also speaks of "coexistence with the common management of the economy", and here the problems begin, as both "coexistence" and the "common economy" are not defined by the Civil Code, where at most it speaks of "property in common” or “in agreement”, with the rights relating to that condition.

In general, paradoxical as it may seem, the rules regarding the family do not offer a definition of "family", and relationships between a man and a woman with property in common can be of a very varied type, without contradicting the law.

You can have a child in common without living together, and in this case it is the father who has the obligation to recognize the child and determine her place of residence, ensuring food, supplies and education.

There is talk of agreed visits, purchase of food and other items, joint dinners between parents and their child and other methods of presence and assistance, without touching on the issue of cohabitation with the mother, and this could imply the possibility of bigamy.

Samadova observes that even without cohabitation and children in common, emotional and friendly relationships are permitted, with times shared even in the homes of one or the other, to enjoy a "family-type relationship" without this having to be considered a behavior polygamous, even if you share property or economic means.

The lawyer recalls that "both the constitution of Tajikistan and the civil code affirm everyone's right to private life, and to maintain private forms of communication in writing, by telephone or telegraph, or with any other instrument".

However, when a marital relationship is entered into for religious reasons, the man who takes a second wife commits himself to the community and agrees to guarantee her maintenance. If after a certain time he stops observing this commitment, or adopts disrespectful and violent behavior towards his wife, women often begin to ask for the intervention of the police, complaining about the existence of competing wives.

The nikah rite, however, is not recorded anywhere, preventing the investigators from proceeding explicitly: the complaints presented by the women are verified, by questioning relatives, neighbors and acquaintances, looking for photographic evidence and turning to those who celebrated the marriage, but not it is always possible to define an explicit violation or a crime.

Often the complaints are made by strangers, and this complicates the situation even further, leading to defamation disputes. Certainly the Tajik marriage, which has remained unstable since the Soviet legacy, is still a very fragile and undefined institution, with many consequences on social life.

• Tajikistan
• Dushanbe
• family
• marriage
• polygamy
• women