Public Lecture: Gender Dimension of Tajik Culture, or Applying Gender Methods and Approaches to Exploring Culture

This lecture will explore how gender approaches and methods of gender research can be applied to the study of culture, with a particular focus on Tajik culture.

The discussion will begin with an overview of gender approaches and research methods, highlighting their significance in cultural studies. It will emphasise the limitations of the conventional post-Soviet “Culturologia” framework, which often relies on essentialist perspectives, downplays the role of women in culture, and reinforces hierarchical classifications of cultural forms.

The presentation will then illustrate how a gender approach can be practically applied to the study of traditional Tajik culture. This will include an analysis of Tajik folk tales and mythology, demonstrating how gender narratives shape cultural perceptions and social roles. Additionally, the lecture will offer a gendered reading of medieval Tajik Islamic philosophy, particularly the works of Abu Ali Ibn Sina, examining his perspectives on gender relations and the roles and responsibilities of men and women.

Further, the discussion will extend to modern Tajik culture, providing a gender analysis of Soviet and contemporary Tajik cinema, as well as select public cultural events. This analysis will reveal how gender is socially and culturally constructed in present-day Tajik society and how stereotypes evolve and persist in cultural representations.

The lecture will also incorporate an ontological analysis of the language of love in Tajik culture, drawing on personal research experiences. Additionally, it will explore the gender dimension of religious life in Tajikistan, illustrating how religious practices and beliefs intersect with contemporary cultural expressions.

Through this multifaceted exploration, the lecture will demonstrate how gender analysis can enrich our understanding of Tajik culture and offer new perspectives on its historical and contemporary development.

About Speaker:
Zulaikho Usmanova, PhD in Philosophy of Culture, Philosophical Anthropology, Fulbright Visiting Scholar, is a Leading Research Fellow at National Academy of Science of Tajikistan, Institute of Philosophy, Political Science and Law in Dushanbe. She pursues anthropological research in the field of gender studies in Tajikistan: has numerous publications on anthropology of gender, women’s religious and cultural practices, gender aspects of Tajik traditional and modern culture, gender violence, and other. She cooperates with international and civil society organisations, is an active feminist activist, and also pursues trainer and lecturing activities on gender equality issues.

Date and time: Wednesday, 9 April 2025, (15:00 Tajikistan and Kazakhstan time), 16:00 (Kyrgyzstan time)
Format: Online and in-person
Venue: Room 306, Meeting Room, 3rd Floor, 61/2 Nisor Muhammad Street, Dushanbe
Language: English
Join online: https://zoom.us/j/99771299410?pwd=QnA4LdPoITrwzOxpd2QjBG32WffIjO.1