According to UN Wire, Tajikistan’s Lower House of Parliament passed a new law to combat trafficking in persons on 2 July 2004. The law provides the terminology required to effectively prosecute traffickers and assist victims. The law also divides responsibilities, such as prevention, assistance and reintegration of the victims among different government agencies, as well as defines the role of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Security, the Ministry of Education, and the State Border Guard Committee. It is the first such anti-trafficking law to be enacted in central Asia. For its final approval, the law must be approved by the upper house of parliament and signed by President Emomali Rakhmonov before it becomes effective.

According to Amnesty International, the Tajik Parliament approved a bill proposed by President Emomali Rakhmonov that would abolish the death penalty for women. Approved in July 2003, the law entered into force in August.

In February 2005, the Tajik Parliament approved a law on state guarantees of equal rights for men and women and equal opportunities in the exercise of such rights. The law is comprised of five chapters that guarantee equal opportunities for women and men in the implementation of election law, in the sphere of state service and in the social economic sphere. The law also lays out enforcement mechanisms that allow the state to ensure compliance with the law’s provisions. Enforcement mechanisms include: the development of a united state gender policy, the direction and supervision of executive organs and hukumats (city councils) in the selection and appointment of women to higher government posts, the supervision of compliance with the law by the general prosecutor, the creation of rights for trade unions to participate in decisions regarding gender equality, and the authority of juridical entities to assess violations of the law. The law became effective on 1 March 2005 upon publication. Please click below to read draft versions of the law in English or Russian.