we stan together | Nationalism and Inequality in Tajikistan

The oxford language dictionary defines nationalism as an” identification with one’s own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations” or rather, “advocacy of or support for the political independence of a particular nation or people”

As a movement, it promotes the interests of a particular nation, building a single or prominent identity- culture, ethnicity, vernacular, politics, religion, and traditions- of a shared history in a particular region, promoting (national) unity/ solidarity. Nationalism has 5 main Core values: Allegiance, Independence, Patriotism, Self-determination, and Solidarity. Now it is important to understand that patriotism and nationalism are not the same things. Patriotism is “devotion to one’s country”, it is disregarding other countries and proudly showing it while; nationalism is identified above all else in your country. Pure patriotism can cause harm when too strong. Nationalism was born at the end of the 18th century, spreading the principle of democracy, consisting of three main theories: “primordialism” (now since rejected by society), “constructivism” (current approach to nationalism), and lastly, “ethnosymbolism.”

Nationalism has diverse political goals and ideologies because of this when practiced, nationalism can be either seen as positive or negative. It encourages freedom and justice in one’s nation, as is “used to legitimize racial, ethnic, and religious divisions, suppress or attack minorities, and undermine human rights and democratic traditions.”

The concept of nationalism has failed in Tajikistan.

Their efforts to become and be independent came at a great cost. There was much pain, after the Soviet Union, as the leadership of Tajikistan had failed in the trend of the other central Asian countries, as they fought within itself-not. They had trouble determining where their history was when it started, the language, and its political grounds. They also had trouble understanding the concepts of nationalism or the events transpiring during the Soviet Union, and not understanding the true value and magnitude that nationalism could bring their country. The fact that there were also controlling, and invading powers (ex. Russia) did not help. Tajikistan is brought down for its hand in rivaling nationalism.

Tajikistan is also brought down by its level of inequality. Following an inequality index Tajikistan level at 46 making itself the 6th most unequal country (on a scale from 0-100, 0 being the highest level of equality.) Mainly being the inequality of gender. “A gender approach has not been adequately introduced in the sectoral legislation and strategic documents, thus gender sensitivity among public servants is low…Women are still uninformed and unaware of their rights to equal access to economic, social, and information resources and energy services.”