Tajikistan’s parliament has passed a bill banning the hijab. In stark contrast to fellow Persian-speaking nation Iran, where theocratic hardliners notoriously enforce the wearing of the Islamic headscarf by women in public places, Tajikistan’s regime has moved against the hijab—as well as other traditional items of Islamic clothing that officials associate with “extremists”—with legislation that takes aim at ‘alien garments’. The bill, which is focused on “national traditions”, will become law once signed by Tajik strongman Emomali Rahmon, who appears intent on counteracting the country’s grow…