Sophie Roche

Wedding rituals and the struggle over national identities

This article argues that rituals are the creative link between state hegemony and the everyday practices of ordinary people. Based on the idea of ritual as experimental technology developed by the Comaroffs (1993), we analyse the Tajik wedding as a means to deal creatively with the tension between the nation-states claims to exert control over its citizens, on the one hand, and the use of traditions as historical continuity to create a common identity, on the other. Whereas weddings conform to state law and have thus adapted to the changing legal frames during the Soviet period and continue to do so in independent Tajikistan, they have also been used as rituals of cultural resistance in which ethnic, local and national identities are asserted against homogenizing efforts. Taking an historical perspective on weddings, this article contributes to the debate on the role of rituals in the creation and contestation of national identity and state ideologies.

From youth bulge to conflict: the case of Tajikistan

‘Youth’ is an ambivalent concept that is situationally and emically specific. This article discusses socio-demographic approaches to youth and applies the ‘youth bulge’ argument – which claims that a society with a high percentage of youth has an increased risk for violent conflicts – to the Central Asian context, more precisely to the early Komsomol and the former combatants in civil war Tajikistan. Based on ethnographic material, I analyse vanguard groups and their strategies for manipulating, challenging and negotiating cultural concepts of youth to mobilize young people on a large scale.

A sound family for a healthy nation: motherhood in Tajik national politics and society

Since independence in 1991, Central Asian countries have put great effort into creating their respective national narratives, which are often based on an ethnic imagination. In Tajikistan this included the idea of shaping society via the family unit. Increasingly, motherhood became the focus of attention, which was made possible by merging two concepts. On the one hand, women are considered as “cultured” and educated people who the Soviet Union freed from “backward” traditions. On the other hand, traditions were reinvented such that the woman is considered the ultimate mother of the nation and the backbone of tradition. This article examines the changing status of motherhood in society and politics through efforts to create a sound family and a healthy nation.

The changing sex ratios at birth during the civil war in Tajikistan : 1992-1997

Sex ratios at birth are known to change during wars or shortly after. This study investigated changes in sex ratios during the civil war that occurred in Tajikistan after the dismantling of the Soviet Union. This civil war was particularly bloody and long lasting, and had many demographic consequences. According to vital registration data, some 27,000 persons died in excess of previous trends during the civil war period (1992-1997), and total mortality was sometimes estimated to be three times higher by independent observers. Birth rates dropped markedly during the war, and sex ratios at birth increased significantly from 104.6 before the war to 106.9 during the war, to return to baseline values afterwards. The change in sex ratio is investigated according to demographic evidence (migration, delayed marriage, spouse separation), substantiated with qualitative evidence (difficulties with food supply), and compared with patterns found in Europe during World War II, as well as with recent wars in the Middle East.

Gender in Narrative Memory: The Example of Civil War Narratives in Tajikistan

This article engages with post-civil war Tajikistan and the way that local narrative memories have developed over the past two decades. It argues that Soviet practices of commemoration as a political concern have been taken over by the independent Tajik regime, thus shaping the way civil war narrative memories have been articulated. While the state monopolizes the official narrative about the civil war, alternate ways of narrative memories do exist, although they do not necessarily challenge the official version. This article focuses on the role of gender in commemoration practices and narrative memories.В статье рассмотрены нарративы памяти о Гражданской войне в постсоветском Таджикистане. Софи Роше показывает, как правящий режим в Таджикистане использует советские коммеморативные практики для создания официальной версии памяти о гражданском противостоянии. Однако основное внимание автор уделяет альтернативным версиям памяти, которые не обязательно противостоят официальному нарративу, но связаны с локальными событиями и личной травмой. Центральной проблемой авторской деконструкции этих нарративов памяти является роль гендера в их оформлении и функционировании.

The Fabric of Answer: Constructing a National Facade

The fabric of answer (  fabrika javob ) refers to the efforts of Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security to respond to discussions in the media as well as among people (rumors). Its primary goal is to shape the outside facade of the country and shut down, ridicule or negate critical and dissident speech. The main goal is to work on the image ( imijsoz ) of the country, which is done by exploiting the notions of vatan (homeland) and millat (nation). The fabric of answer has become the main agent for deciding who is part of the homeland and nation and who is a traitor and enemy. Based on documents and internet discussions, this article demonstrates how the fabric of answer interferes in human lives and online discussions. The use of homeland and nation serves to emotionalize discussions and divert readers’ attention from social problems and criticism.

Twenty-five Somonis for a good future: how young women in Tajikistan shape their futures and secure their present

In Tajikistan the concept of “womanhood” developed in the Soviet period remains at odds with local conceptions of gender roles. These competing forms of female agency force young women to creatively shape their future, drawing on the paradigm of womanhood that befits their life-world. Here, we see how young women take their future into their own hands, in a society that scrutinizes female behavior and seems to restrict women’s agency. Recognizing that an encounter between two people can change the life course of one of them, this article employs a cross-biographic approach to understand women’s agency in Tajikistan. Based on the biographies of a bakhshi (fortune teller) and two young women who visit her, I explore how these two women of marriageable age deal with their emotional world and a society where failure to marry stigmatizes the whole family. The conscious decision of these young women to meet a bakhshi, to actively allow the bakhshi to influence their life course, offers insight on female agency and young women’s strategies in managing their emotions, controlling their futures, and securing good luck (bakht).