Tajiks Pioneer New Refuge Approach

Marhabo, from the Isfara region, is typical of the type of women who’ve taken refuge at Tajkistan’s first-ever shelter for victims of domestic violence and other forms of abuse. She came in late September to escape a messy custody battle with her husband.

“I am waiting for the court’s verdict on transferring the custody rights for my child,” said Marhabo at the centre in Khujand, the main town in the northern Sogd province, which opened in early July. “My husband took the child and went to the Russian Federation. I decided to hide here on the advice of a lawyer.”

Funded by the US State Department and run by the Tajik women’s crisis centre Gulrukhsor - which has been offering medical advice and social and psychological rehabilitation since 1996 - the new shelter is the first of its kind in this Central Asian state, where many cases of domestic violence go unreported, and the majority of victims, particularly in the countryside, are economically and emotionally dependant on their husbands.

Over 35 per cent of calls to a Gulrukhsor hotline last year were from abused women and every second caller was in need of temporary shelter.

Farkhunda from Khujand would have welcomed the opportunity to stay at the refuge while in the process of divorcing her husband. “After a fight I hid at my relatives, but my husband found me there, took me home and continued to raise a scandal,” she said. “I divorced him, and I don’t regret it.”

The centre can accommodate just six people, so women can remain in residence for only 14 days, though exceptions can be made. So far ten women have stayed, but at the time of an IWPR reporter’s visit only two were there.

Workers here expect numbers to rise when word gets out about the centre, potentially problematic given the current cramped quarters. “We are worried that if this happens, we will not be able to help all the women who come to us,” said Mavzuna Hakimbaeva, an employee at the refuge.

Particularly attractive to women escaping abusive homes is the fact that security is a priority. When women leave the building they must inform employees where they are going and why. A panic button connected to the local police station is in place for added protection.

“When the police receive a signal they immediately react and come to us in minutes,” said one employee.

In addition to three meals a day, the women receive counselling to boost their confidence and are helped with finding work and learning new skills. To that end, plans are in place to bring in the NGO Women and Society to offer courses on dressmaking, sewing, hairdressing, pottery and cooking.

Zarina came to the shelter to escape regular beatings by her husband. She arrived suffering from low self-esteem and apathy, but after two weeks here that all changed, and she once more felt a rush of energy. “Even her husband noticed this and now treats her with more care,” said a shelter employee.

Unlike at western shelters where the priority is keeping women away from abusive spouses, the Khujand facility prides itself on reuniting troubled families.

Hakimbaeva tells the story of Farangis who turned up after a fight with her husband. Though the centre’s location was supposed to be a secret, he discovered the address and came to see his wife. “Initially, he was aggressive, but after he saw the conditions that his wife was living in, he calmed down,” said Hakimbaeva. “They now both come to us and receive advice on how to lead a happy family life.”

Gulchehra Rahmonova, director of the INIS women’s human rights centre, said no one who has come to the refuge for help has gone on to seek a divorce. “All of them returned to their families,” she said.

The head of a youth club in Chkalovsk, about 10 kilometres from Khujand, agrees the shelter is necessary to give women “somewhere to wait for their angry husbands to calm down”.

“Some can find shelter with their friends but they are scared to open the door, fearing the husband who may find his wife there,” said Galina Lebedenko. “This refuge is also necessary for children who become nervous, and because of domestic scandals are prone to behave badly.”

But some Tajik women are less convinced by the centre and its programmes.

There are those who fear that if they leave their homes for any length of time they’ll never be allowed to return, and others who are reluctant to ask for help.

Gulchin, from the Zafarab region, said she would never turn to a women’s shelter. When she divorced her husband, she moved to the city, rented an apartment and found a job.

“[I] didn’t ask for help from anyone,” she said. “You shouldn’t be a burden to your parents ... or to other organisations.”

Madina Saifidinova is an IWPR correspondent in north Tajikistan.