Masculinities of Tajik Labor Migrants

This book explores masculinities of Tajik men and offers insights on how migrant and non-migrant men maintain their gender identity and adjust their gender practices in the context of transnational labor migration from Tajikistan to Russia. Being in the state of transnational in-betweenness, Tajik non/migrant men and often their spouses need to adapt to gender norms of both Russian and Tajik gender orders despite the orders' very different and at times contradicting gender requirements. Therefore, the book provides the first comprehensive analysis of Tajik non/migrant men's masculinities and their navigation between various forms of masculinity: hegemonic, complicit, marginalized, protest and dominant, thereby performing flexible and strategic masculinity. While focusing on migrant men, this research also highlights the role of women in sustaining their partners' masculine image and the ways how Russian women adjust their gender practices in response to the requirements of Tajik society.

Rustam Samadov holds a PhD degree in Central Asian studies from the Humboldt University in Berlin. His research interests lie in the fields of anthropology, migration, gender, intersectionality and Central Asian studies.