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Tajik women hunger strike against market demolition, 2009

Summary

In April 2009, a Tajik court declared the Zarnisor bazaar in Dushanbe illegal and ordered its demolition without compensation, even though merchants had paid more than 13 million somoni (about $3.25 million) in taxes from 2004 to 2009. [source: nv-database] On 6 May 2009, about 30 female merchants began a hunger strike to demand that the demolition be cancelled and their jobs preserved. [source: nv-database] The Mayoral Office briefly opened talks, but the city administration ended negotiations on 10 May and demolished the bazaar on 20 May 2009, after which the women ended the hunger strike. [source: nv-database] City officials estimated that at least 150 merchants would be helped into other markets, though several hundred lost their livelihoods. [source: nv-database]

Tactics used

Background

Tajikistan, a small post-Soviet state bordering Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and China with a population of about 8 million, had one of the lowest GDPs among former Soviet republics following a 1992-1997 civil war. [source: nv-database] Merchants established the Zarnisor bazaar in Dushanbe in 1995; in 1996 businessmen privatised it, and after six years they received a certificate of permanent land use from the Tajikistan Land Committee. [source: nv-database] The April 2009 court ruling declared the market illegal with no compensation to the storeowners and merchants, leaving many female traders unable to repay their bank debts. [source: nv-database]

What happened

On 6 May 2009, about 30 female merchants gathered to declare the start of a hunger strike, vowing to refuse any concession and to desist only if the demolition was called off and their jobs preserved. [source: nv-database] On 9 May, the Mayoral Office seemed ready to discuss alternatives and the women suspended the hunger strike. [source: nv-database] On 10 May, the city administration ended negotiations, prompting the women to threaten a resumption of the hunger strike on 13 May if the city refused to meet their demands. [source: nv-database] On 13 May, the women resumed the hunger strike. [source: nv-database] On 20 May, the city began the demolition of Zarnisor bazaar; the women ended the hunger strike, and the city did not compensate storeowners, leaving several hundred unemployed. [source: nv-database] City officials estimated that at least 150 merchants would be helped into other markets. [source: nv-database]

Key people & organizations

  • 30 female Zarnisor merchants (hunger strikers) [source: nv-database]
  • Dushanbe city administration (opponent) [source: nv-database]
  • Tajik court (issued the April 2009 demolition ruling) [source: nv-database]
  • Tajikistan Land Committee (issued the original permanent-use certificate) [source: nv-database]
  • Other Zarnisor bazaar merchants (allied supporters) [source: nv-database]

Outcome

Verdict: lost.

The bazaar was demolished on 20 May 2009, and the women ended their hunger strike without securing a halt to the demolition. [source: nv-database] City officials offered to help at least 150 merchants find jobs in other markets, and the campaign produced no further concessions. [source: nv-database] Per the source’s scoring rubric, the campaign scored 1 out of 6 points on achieving specific demands/goals, 0.5 out of 1 on survival, and 0 out of 3 on growth (1.5 out of 10 total). [source: nv-database] The Zarnisor case was part of a broader pattern in Tajikistan, where the government has often demolished markets and homes to make way for new housing settlements and trade buildings. [source: nv-database]

Lessons

  • A hunger strike without external pressure points (international media, foreign investors, election timing) is rarely sufficient to reverse a completed legal decision.
  • A partial face-saving offer (helping 150 merchants find new stalls) is a common authoritarian counter: it allows the regime to claim it “responded” while the core demand — keeping the bazaar — is denied [source: nv-database]
  • Pre-emptive legal finality (the April 2009 court ruling) closed the negotiation window before the protest even started, illustrating that defensive campaigns are most effective when launched at the planning stage, not the demolition stage [source: nv-database]

Sources

Disclaimer: Included as a teaching example of campaign craft, not as endorsement.

Sources & verification

  • nv-database — grounding: primary — license: link-only
  • Rewritten: 2026-07-04 via t6_build.py

Last verified: 2026-07-09