1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. About Tajikistan
1.1.1. A small landlocked country in Central Asia, bordering Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan
1.1.2. Gained its independence in 1991, after the collapse of Soviet Union
1.1.3. Civil War 1992-1997
1.1.3.1. Pro-Islam vs Pro-Government
1.1.3.2. Affects
1.1.3.2.1. 46% below poverty line.
1.1.3.2.2. Increase violence against women.
1.1.3.2.3. Lack of education, especially for women.
1.1.3.2.4. Women facing discrimination.
1.2. About Domestic Violence
1.2.1. One of the results of Civil War
1.2.2. Women are facing this a lot by their husbands and in-laws
1.2.3. 80% of Tajik women have been through domestic violence
1.2.4. 200 women committed suicide, 5800 broken marriages are mostly because of domestic violence.
1.2.5. Thesis Statement
1.2.5.1. Tajik women are experiencing domestic violence through psychological and physical abuse by their husbands and in-laws.
2. BODY
2.1. Psychological Abuse
2.1.1. 56.5% (in 2005) have been psychologically abused. (Most common form)
2.1.2. Reasons
2.1.2.1. Men are the "boss"
2.1.2.2. Wives can't disagree the husbands
2.1.2.3. Men would easily divorce their wives
2.1.3. Specific example
2.1.3.1. Zamira: never allowed to leave the house, they would have arguments, and sometimes would beat her up. Got divorced in an Islamic tradition way, and got kicked out of the house by the in-laws
2.1.3.2. Risolat: Boyfriend threatened to kill her if she tells anyone about the rape.
2.2. Physical Abuse
2.2.1. Second most common. 22.3% in 2005
2.2.2. Reasons
2.2.2.1. Not doing good enough in house chores
2.2.2.2. Arguments leads to violence
2.2.2.3. Showing who is the "boss"
2.2.3. Specific Examples
2.2.3.1. During the 14 year old's marriage, her husband strangle her throat to show who the "boss" is.
2.2.3.2. Zamira
2.2.3.3. Equal before the law: Husband keeps abusing his wife, which became a habit. The wife was really willing to commit suicide.
2.2.3.4. Equal before the law: A husband beat her wife up until her one eye got blind
2.2.4. Usually also followed by psychological abuse
3. CONCLUSION
3.1. What is being done
3.1.1. Issues in general
3.1.1.1. More than 80% of Tajik women have been victims of domestic violence at some point, but very few of them have reported their abuse to the police
3.1.1.2. domestic violence is an everyday occurrance which is tolerated, sometimes even accepted as normal
3.1.1.3. In Tajikistan, women are making increasing contributions to the economy and family budgets. But at the same time, women are becoming overburdened with unpaid household labor and detached from social life, and fewer and fewer girls are attending school.
3.1.2. A new bill was published in 2012, where women can be protected and saved.
3.1.3. “This law will help to regulate family relations and most importantly, it concretely defines the measures to prevent domestic violence,” says Nasrullo Makhmudov, a Member of Parliament who is one of the authors of the new bill. “It protects the rights of the family and defines the ways of providing legal, medical and psychological assistance to victims of domestic violence while introducing administrative measures for punishment of perpetrators.”
3.1.4. 15 days in prison for those who commit to violence against women
3.1.5. With the help from Swiss, there has been some improvements of awareness.
3.2. What needs to be done
3.2.1. There still has to be more awareness, showing people regularly of what is wrong
3.2.2. Show women that this should not be a norm, and they should report if they have experienced domestic violence.