Celebrating birthdays is prohibited and illegal in this country!
For everyone, birthday happens once in a year, it is something that most people look forward to as it marks the beginning of a new year in their life and people usually celebrate this day.
Tajikistan is a country in Central Asia, which is mainly surrounded by Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Tajikistan is popular for its rugged mountains that are great for hiking and climbing.
One thing that is common about Tajikistan is that birthday parties are not allowed there and this is written in their law.
Specifically, Article 8 of the Republic of Central Asia’s Law on Traditions and Customs prohibits celebrating birthdays anywhere unless they do so in private with their families.
This means that the law puts a limit on the number of guests you invite to your birthday party, the amount of money you plan to spend, and even how long the event can last.
Reports indicate that this law was passed in 2007 after President Imam Ali Rahman was in power for 21 years.
At that time, the president emphasized that the holding of big celebrations puts a lot of pressure on Tajik families, which often puts them in debt to maintain their appearance.
This law is actually fully enforced because in 2019, a man named Amirbek Issov was arrested for throwing a birthday party for himself. At that time, Isouf was seen in a Facebook photo sitting with his birthday cake.
The man had claimed in his defense that he had been out with friends that night and even the waiter told the court that it did not seem like a birthday party had been planned. But he was fined anyway.
Some reports also say that Issov is not the only one accused of violating the no-birthday-party law in Tajikistan.
The same law was violated three hundred and ninety-four times in 2014 and probably over the years.
