ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author examines how international organizations produce knowledge about violence against women in Tajikistan through their definitions of the causes of such violence, including definitions of gender, tradition, culture, and Islam. She also analyzes relationships between international organizations and government actors, religious leaders, the political opposition, and the women's movement in the policy-making arena as they seek to address the causes of violence against women and ways to eliminate such violence, whether referred to as "violence against women," "domestic violence," or "gender-based violence." The author uses the term "violence against women" to encompass all three. She examines how some gender experts in international organizations in Tajikistan have restricted the use of references to Islam and to culture so as to avoid competing with government interpretations and ruling regime.
