Turkmenistan’s new president is clamping down on women’s freedoms

A journey to the wonder salon for a manicure adopted by a carry residence doesn’t normally represent an act of subversion. However for girls in Turkmenistan such on a regular basis actions at the moment are towards the regulation, topic to fines of as much as half the minimal month-to-month wage. Beauticians who are inclined to them may be jailed for 15 days.

The brand new guidelines, imposed final month, are the brainchild of Serdar Berdymukhamedov, Turkmenistan’s new president, who took over from his long-serving father, Gurbanguly, after a rigged election in March. Serdar’s youth—he’s solely 40 years previous—gave rise to tentative hopes amongst some within the nation that he may show, if no more liberal, at the least much less repressive than his father. But the youthful man is popping out to be simply as obsessive about micromanaging the lives of his residents.

It’s not solely manicures which are past the pale. Every little thing from false eyelashes to Botox injections is now restricted. No rationalization has been supplied, nor any new guidelines truly printed. Regulation-enforcement officers merely cite an unofficial ban on introducing “overseas objects” to the feminine physique, in line with Turkmen.information, a web site primarily based within the Netherlands. Girls have additionally been barred from travelling in personal autos with males to whom they don’t seem to be associated. They will nonetheless take taxis—however solely as long as they sit within the again seat.

Police are imposing the brand new guidelines with relish. They’ve carried out raids in public locations and places of work, demanding girls take away their face-masks so their lips may be inspected for indicators of enhancement. Public-sector staff have needed to vow to not dye their hair, use beauty procedures or put on tight garments. On Could 14th Radio Liberty, an American-funded media outlet, reported that authorities within the metropolis of Mary have been detaining {couples}, together with married ones, for such crimes as holding fingers.

This isn’t the Berdymukhamedovs’ first assault on girls’s rights. In 2018 Gurbanguly initiated an unofficial marketing campaign towards feminine drivers wherein their autos have been impounded and their licences confiscated on such flimsy grounds as failing to maintain all of the required gear within the first-aid kits drivers are supposed to hold.

Although Turkmenistan is 89% Muslim, most of its persons are not very observant and the state is formally secular. The impositions on girls derive as a substitute from Turkmen tribal customs known as adat, says Akja Kepderi, a Turkmen researcher who goes by a pseudonym to guard her household. Adat dictates that ladies should keep at residence, “serving as a giant womb for giving delivery to a number of youngsters”, says Ms Kepderi.

Guidelines printed final month prohibit abortion to the primary 5 weeks of being pregnant, in impact a complete ban. The state, which lavishes rewards on girls who’ve eight or extra youngsters, presents females as a “reproductive vessel”, says Aynabat Yaylymova of the Progres Basis, which promotes well being literacy. The fertility charge, at 2.7 per lady, has been falling for a number of a long time.

Public protests are uncommon in Turkmenistan. However after they do escape, they’re usually led by girls, says Ms Kepderi. Probably the most frequent trigger is a scarcity of meals. The older Berdymukhamedov’s prohibition on driving was reportedly eased in 2020 after offended girls disrupted the work of driving-licence places of work, demanding their functions be accepted. Serdar’s preliminary strikes in workplace counsel he’s more likely to be even much less female-friendly than his father. But in imposing harsh restrictions on half the inhabitants, he could also be storing up hassle for the longer term. ■