Tajikistan

Greetings

Men greeting Men –Men will usually shake hands with the right hand when greeting and departing. This is usually accompanied with the Islamic saying "Asalaam Aleikum" which means "God grant you peace". Family members will often engage in full hugs.

Women greeting Women- Most women will shake hands when greeting and departing, sometimes accompanied by a nod of the head. During initial meetings a handshake or simple nod of acknowledgment will usually suffice.

Greetings between Men greeting Women- At a first meeting a handshake or simple nod of acknowledgment will usually suffice. It is best for women to initiate the greeting.

Note: It is taboo for religiously observant men to touch women and vice-versa.

Communication Style

• Tajiks tend to like to speak about their life and country to others; they usually do not hide issues and are honest in their relationships.
  
• Subjects that may offend include showing arrogance, flirting with the women at the first meeting, rejecting the offered food (one could take the food, but eat a little of it and say that he/she did it as a sign of respect, otherwise the person is either full of not able to eat the food due to health reasons).
  
• Humor is used but most people would not start a conversation with it. It's best to avoid sarcasm as it may be misunderstood.
• Sensitivity to Islamic mores and values is important.
  

Personal Space & Touch

• When speaking to a Tajik of the same gender, physical closeness and touching is acceptable.
  
• When talking to a Tajik of the opposite gender, physical closeness and touching will almost certainly have connotations of flirtation.
  
• Friends are more likely to touch each other and although they will often maintain a similar distance when speaking, there amount of personal space around each person is not considered as private.
• Public displays of affection (e.g. holding hands) are common, although they may provoke limited outrage with very traditional Tajiks. They are more common among the younger Tajik generation.

Eye Contact

• Eye contact is used in judging whether a person is trustworthy.
  
• Most Tajiks will not maintain constant eye contact, but it is considered a sign of a problem and issue that needs to be resolved if a person refuses to or is reluctant to make eye contact.

Gestures

• Putting the thumb between the index and middle finger is an obscene gesture.
• Putting the index finger to the forehead or the side of the head usually means someone is crazy or stupid.
  

Gender Roles

• Gender roles are highly formalized among traditional (usually rural) families. This is counter-balanced by the influence of the Soviet policy of gender equality, particularly among progressive (usually urban) Tajiks.
• Because Tajik society is presently in a perpetual state of transition, you never really know what to expect.

Taboos

• If you step on someone's foot, an apology is required.
• When you are sitting, don't point the bottom of your foot towards another person. This may be very offensive to many Tajiks.
• Don't use your left hand for exchanges: money, gifts, shaking hands, passing food.
• Blowing your nose in public does not tend to be acceptable.

Dress

• Tajiks tend to be very formal and both men and women tend to dress conservatively.
  
• Men generally dress in Western clothing (for example - suit and tie for winter and white shirt with tie in the summer.)
  
• Women usually dress in a local/traditional dress. (For example: long colorful dress with colorful head cover and traditional pants).
• Western women may want to consider the fact that clothing considered merely revealing in their country may be considered provocative here, although there is no hard and fast rule about this.
• In an urban setting however, there is more of a mixture of local/ traditional and modern /western dress.
• The younger generation dresses more and more like Westerners. (pants and shirts).

Titles & Business Cards

• Colleagues are usually addressed by their first names but supervisors are often addressed by titles such as Muallim (teacher), khujain (boss), Ustod (master), or even rais (chief, boss).
  
• In many cases people still use the Soviet approach whereby people are addressed by using their first and middle names such as Rahim Karimovich. The use of Janob (Mr) or Khomun (Ms.) is quite rare and is used mostly in official meetings or in very formal occasions.
  
• In a traditional setting, people may use titles such as Pir, Domulloh, Eshon and Kahlifa which are all religious titles or Okhon (teacher).
  
• In an informal environment people address each other by using words such as aka (elder brother) if the person you are talking to is older than you or you can use dodar (younger brother). Similarly to women is apa (elder sister), khohar (younger sister) and khola (for a woman that you may feel is your mother's age) and amak (men that you may feel your mother's age).

Negotiations

• Decisions tend to be made by supervisor/leader, rather than by consensus.

Gift Giving

• If you are presented with a gift, plan on giving something in return in the near future.
• It is usually appropriate to give a gift when you visit someone's home.
• Gifts from your city or country will be treasured. Postcards or other small cultural items would be appropriate, or small toys for children.
• Local people often give chocolates, fruit or flowers as gifts.
• Avoid giving alcohol and products made for a pig.