Abstract:

Research shows that egalitarian family law may be the most important precondition for the economic and political empowerment of women (Dollar & Gratti, 1999; Kaber; 2005; Klasen, 2016; OCED, 2017; World Bank; 2017). For policymakers, the primary source of concern lies in international law’s failure to address inequalities within the family unit, complicating the work and scholarship in the field of international women’s rights. This is especially prevalent in many Muslim-majority countries that have integrated religious laws into their legal systems, institutionalizing inequalities in matters of marriage, divorce, custody, and inheritance. It is these religious laws that several Muslim-majority nations base their reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), namely Article 16 which concerns women’s rights and equality within the family. Given Islamic law’s institutionalization of female inequalities, a country’s level of legal secularization (or lack thereof) has been used as an explanatory variable for the subordinate status of women in the Muslim World. The assumption that secularization inherently leads to improved gender equality presupposes that the elimination of religious influence from legal systems paves the way for egalitarian social structures. However, empirical evidence supporting this assumption remains limited, particularly regarding nations that have undergone the process from their previous employment of religious family laws. In response, this study examines the gap between law and practice in the case of Tajikistan, a nation that has undergone the process of legal secularization from its previous employment of Islamic laws in the late 1920s. Yet, Tajikistan consistently ranks among the lowest in terms of gender equality among its regional counterparts despite ratifying CEDAW without reservations. Complicating matters further, the country has also been reported to have an upsurge in informal utilization of Islamic law, including polygamous marriages and citizens turning to religious institutions to resolve family disputes. Based on field research conducted between August 2022 and February 2023, this paper investigates the discrepancy between Tajikistan's legal framework, which ostensibly adheres to international standards of gender equality through its international commitments and secular character, and the observed persistence of gender disparities within the family unit by asking: To what extent do secular Tajik civil courts effectively implement legal safeguards for women in matters related to the family? By examining the Tajik case, this research further informs broader debates on the role of religious laws, state secularization, and international legal frameworks in promoting gender justice worldwide.