CULTURE CLASH AT ROUNDTABLE ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 001329

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TAGS: PHUM KTIP KCRM KWMN PGOV SMIG TI
SUBJECT: CULTURE CLASH AT ROUNDTABLE ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

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1. (SBU) SUMMARY: At a UN-sponsored roundtable to discuss the
endemic problem of violence against women in Tajikistan,
representatives of NGOs and the international community
forcefully argued for passage of a comprehensive, national law
against domestic violence. An American Bar Association (ABA)
attorney, working under a DRL project, presented recommendations
to strengthen a draft law that has languished for three years.
Government officials dug in their heels, said they needed more
time to study a draft, and argued that financial and cultural
factors should be studied in greater detail. Despite a walk-out
staged by President Rahmon's representative, the roundtable
passed a resolution to recommend passage of a family law "to
fight against all forms of discrimination against women and
girls." END SUMMARY.



STOPPING GENDER VIOLENCE: "WE CAN'T DO EVERYTHING IN ONE DAY"

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2. (U) On November 24, the International Day for the Elimination
of Violence Against Women, Amnesty International released a
report documenting widespread psychological, physical, and
sexual abuse of women in Tajikistan. That same day, the United
Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) held a roundtable in
Dushanbe to discuss measures to prevent violence against women
and assess a long-delayed draft law on domestic violence. The
acting representative of the UN High Commission on Human Rights
delivered an overview of the UN Special Rapporteur's May 2008
report on violence against women, which estimates that between
one-third and one-half of women suffer violence at the hands of
their husbands or in-laws. The report documents cases of
battered women resorting to suicide, including self-immolation
and discusses the Rapporteur's visits to women imprisoned for
killing their abusive husbands. The Rapporteur recommended
passage of a comprehensive law on domestic violence and violence
against women, as there is no such law in the Tajik legal code.
A draft Law was completed in 2006, but it has not been
introduced to Parliament for debate and passage.




3. (SBU) Asked to respond on behalf of the government, Yusuf
Salimov, Head of the Department on Constitutional Guarantees of
its Citizens, mumbled through an extended laundry list of Tajik
achievements in women's rights, including ratification of the UN
Convention Against All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,
President Rahmon's law "On Guarantees of Equality Between Men
and Women," and the appointment of ten women as Tajik diplomats.
When the roundtable moderator noted that Salimov had failed to
answer any of the questions raised by the Rapporteur's report, a
representative of the Presidential Apparatus, Naurus Samadov,
intervened. He said the government had not yet completed its
official response to the 2008 UN report, but insisted that they
were working on it. "We have a lot of information that
contradicts the Rapporteur's report. You can't ask us to do
everything in one day! We are trying to do what we can, when we
can. We are working thoroughly."



GOVERNMENT CRITIQUE OF LAW: CULTURAL MORE THAN FINANCIAL

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4. (SBU) When Poloff asked Samadov what was delaying passage of
the law, Samadov replied, "There are big financing problems
being considered" in establishing additional crisis centers for
battered women in cities and district centers as mandated in the
draft. He called for further study of the draft, as well as the
general problem of domestic violence, declaring, "Our society is
very traditional. We can't force the people to make changes
overnight. And regarding the Rapporteur's remarks about women
who are in jail for murdering their husbands, we cannot simply
release these women. Society will not accept it."




5. (SBU) American Bar Association (ABA) attorney Joshua
Friedman, working under a DRL-funded rule of law program,
briefed the group on the ABA's proposed revisions to the draft
law. Proposals include providing funding and registration
details for both Crisis Centers and Centers for Medical-Social
Rehabilitation of Victims of Family Violence; and specifying
that officers have the authority to remove an offender from the

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family household and to require the offender to stay away from
the victim. Friedman said the draft law should recognize, even
if only implicitly by using the term "domestic violence," that
the vast majority of violence within family and romantic
relationships is perpetrated by men against women.




6. (SBU) While UNIFEM and NGOs in attendance praised the ABA's
proposals, representatives of the working group preparing the
draft law argued that their work should proceed slowly in a
"passive, Muslim society." One member of the working group
argued that the law should not be formulated to specifically
benefit women, asking, "Why should women be granted special
rights? Why should there be shelters only for women? Men are
also beaten." He went on to suggest that the ABA's
recommendations would lead to men getting kicked out of their
homes. At times, criticism by government officials verged on
the bizarre. After a legal expert delivered a presentation on
the effective implementation of family law in Austria, a female
Tajik MP countered, "Why would we take an example from Austria,
when they lock their children in the basement to sexually abuse
them?" (She was evidently referring to the 2008 Fritzl case.)
She later added that government hydro-electric projects are a
much higher priority than funding new shelters as part of the
draft law.



GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL WALKS OUT AS PRO-FAMILY LAW MOTION PASSES

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7. (SBU) At the close of the roundtable, organizers tabled a
non-binding resolution to "agree to develop and adopt at the
national level a law to fight against all forms of
discrimination against women and girls." During discussion of
the resolution, in which NGO representatives forcefully argued
for the need to pass a domestic violence law, Presidential
apparatus representative Samadov walked out of the room in a
huff. Yusuf Salimov remained behind with his hands on the table
as the symbolic motion was passed by the majority.




8. (SBU) Tajikistan UNIFEM Director Nargis Azizova told Poloff
that despite the walk-out, the roundtable was a success as it
put the government on notice that the international community
and local NGOs are following the family law issue and will
continue to advocate for the law's passage. She said the main
obstacle to passage of the law is not the government's inability
to finance its provisions, but the opposition of a select number
of high-ranking officials with traditional views. She called
for more active engagement, especially from NGOs, to lobby for
the law's passage.




9. (SBU) COMMENT: Based on the Neanderthal remarks of government
representatives, it is clear that the biggest challenge to
Tajikistan's draft domestic violence law is opposition by old
school government officials. Embassy sources report that the
Minister of Justice has been the biggest opponent to the bill
and has prevented its submission to the Parliament for debate.
It is encouraging, however, that local NGOs have begun to
advocate for movement on the law. The November 24 report by
Amnesty International should give them additional ammunition as
they lobby against entrenched views. The government will need
to be reminded that it should take concrete action by adopting
the long-awaited domestic violence law, rather than touting
toothless presidential decrees of gender equality. END COMMENT
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