Tajik government bans children from celebrating Eid al-Fitr

The Dushanbe City Education Department has issued an order urging parents not to allow their children to participate in "Idgardak" during the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

Authorities are citing safety concerns for the ban, citing the risk of traffic accidents, missing children, and inadequate care.

Idgardak is a long-standing tradition in which children go from house to house during the holiday, greeting each other and receiving gifts of sweets, candies, chocolates, and the like.

Government representatives remind that the ban on idgardak also applies to the Eid al-Adha holiday, justifying this with the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan "On the Regulation of Traditions, Celebrations and Ceremonies."

It should be recalled that last year, the upper house of the Tajik parliament approved amendments to the same law prohibiting the holding of traditional children's festivals called "Idgardak" during two Islamic holidays - Ramadan and Eid al-Adha.