Practitioners Keep Low Profile to Avoid Arrest and Public Shaming Amid Government-Led Campaigns
DUSHANBE: In Tajikistan, a woman cautiously opens her apartment door, letting out a waft of incense. “I’m not taking on new clients; it could be a set-up,” she says, closing and locking the door.
Tajikistan, a predominantly Muslim country, has recently launched a crackdown against fortune-tellers, clairvoyants, mediums, and “witches.” Practitioners of the occult are keeping a low profile to avoid arrest and public shaming due to a government-led campaign.
Tajik police have escalated raids against those they accuse of being “parasites engaged in some of the most detestable activities imaginable—divination and witchcraft.”
President Emomali Rakhmon has stated that “illegal religious teaching leads to scams, divination, and witchcraft,” and announced the arrest of 1,500 people involved in such activities last year.
Fortune-tellers and witches have adapted by avoiding direct meetings in their homes and instead visiting clients.
The rise in witchcraft and fortune-telling can be attributed to social inequality and a lack of access to public services, with many seeking alternative remedies and support due to limited healthcare systems.
