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Paper long abstract:

The paper is presenting a research that will be undertaken within the framework of my MA thesis. This study aims to explore the processes through which erotic desires are constructed and expressed among young women in Dushanbe. Thence, the research is addressing the formation of young women's sexual subjectivities that evolve in the process of personal navigations trying to reconcile tensions between personal (intimate) desires and societal norms and ideas of what is il/legitimate. Narrative interviewing is chosen as one of the main methods of inquiry.

Currently, I do not have any empirical material, however, by the time of the conference I am planning to present preliminary results of the research project. So far, the starting point of my argument is informed by the scholarship of micro-political scientist Collete Harris on gender relations in Tajikistan. One of the conclusions the scholar draws in her research is that unmarried young women in Tajikistan have to repress all their sexual feelings because of anxieties on "lost virginity". While the discourse of "virginity" is indeed policing sexualities, I disagree with her line of argumentation, because erotic desires can be expressed and experienced in a multitude of ways and importantly also outside of marriage.

The paper will conclude sketching out the relevance of the research project in several aspects. Since the issue of erotic desire among young women in Tajikistan is not well researched, the study is attempting to provide non-normative analysis of contemporary sexual practices among young women in Dushanbe and contribute to the existing scholarship. Additionally, the topic might be relevant for both grassroots women's rights movements and established NGOs, because control of female sexuality constitutes a significant part of gender based violence and inequalities. Given very strong tradition of medicalisation of sexuality research, I would be very careful to claim relevance of my research to this field. However, certain contributions can also be indirectly useful for reproductive health/rights activists and specialists.

Keywords: sexuality, Tajikistan, agency, virginity, young women, narrative interviews