March 8 is international women’s day. Photo courtesy of Guzel Tuhbatullina. The famous motto of men, “Be Quiet, women! Your day is on March 8!” is an ironic symbol of women’s everyday reality in Turkmenistan. Women in Turkmenistan are granted a single day in the year when men “graciously” agree to honor them. During the remaining 364 days of the year, however, Turkmenistani women are constantly reminded by men (jokingly or not) that they need to remain silent. It is the fate of Turkmen women to wait like “ghosts,” speechless until March 8th magically breaks the spell of their silence. March 8th, International Women’s Day (IWD), is truly a paradoxical holiday in Turkmenistan. Despite its origin in women’s struggle for equality, over the last three decades, the holiday has metamorphosed into another triumph of male chauvinism and sexism. Instead of being a day for Turkmenistanistan to celebrate women’s achievements and rally for equality, Turkmens end up celebrating womanhood, femininity, and women’s dependence on men. Every holiday is associated with a social movement that is closely interwoven with that country’s history and national mentality. The IWD is not an exception. Prior to the occupation of the Transcaspian region (the current territory of Turkmenistan) by the Tsarit Russia, the roles of men and women were regulated by nomadic customs and traditions (also referred to as “adat”) as well as Islamic canones (also referred to as “sharia”). The mainstream Russian and Western literature claim that the achievements of women’s emancipation in Turkmenistan happened only during Soviet times. However, such analysis overlooks the fact that even before the Soviets colonized present-day Turkmenistan, there were many already “emancipated” Turkmen women. Historically, Turkic women were considered equitable partners capable of fighting alongside and against men. In nomadic societies, girls were taught at a young age how to handle arms just as equally as the boys. Seen from this perspective, the mainstream rhetoric that the Soviets created gender equality and civilized “savage” Central Asia is nothing but a hegemonic imperial view wrapped in racism. While Turkmenistan’s constitution guarantees equal civil rights to both men and women, the state-controlled mass media promotes traditional gender roles. Media perpetuated archaic stereotypes by depicting women as symbols of purity, beauty, and modesty. “The Uzbek Madonna” photo by Max Penson, USSR, 1930s. Reproduction of the original photograph. This is an iconic photo that shows the “success” of USSR’s hujum on Central Asian women. Photo via Twitter. In contemporary Turkmenistan, March 8th has been celebrated as International Women’s Day (IWD) since 2008. Prior to that, the IWD was moved to March 21 by Turkmenistan’s first president, Saparmyrat Niyazov, to merge IWD with Novruz Bayram — the Zoroastrian holiday marking the beginning of spring. Back in the days of Turkmenbashy, the combined holidays were referred to as National Spring and Women’s Day. The celebration of IWD on March 8th as a singular holiday was reinstated in Turkmenistan under the leadership of the current president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov (commonly recognized as “Arkadag,” “Protector” in English) in 2008. However, the initial idea of celebrating women’s equal rights was replaced by the celebration of female beauty and motherhood, thus, making the holiday akin to Mother’s Day. Perhaps the distorted understanding of women’s rights in Turkmenistan arises from the fact that Turkmenistani women never marched for their freedoms and fundamental rights like their sisters in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan; instead, Turkmenistani women were fed the notion of “women’s emancipation” and “women’s rights” first by the Soviet government and then by the development agencies? To date, in Turkmenistan, women have not yet taken any steps to demand their freedom, nor have they fought for it. As long as Turkmenistan remains isolated from the rest of the world under the brutal and eccentric rule of Berdimuhammedov, gender equality will remain an unattainable dream. To “honor” their contributions to society, the state began awarding cash bonuses (60 manats, about USD 3 at the black market rate as of March 2022) to all employed or student women. Housewives and individual entrepreneurs are not eligible for this “generous” gift. By contrast, in Turkmenistan, a kilogram of sugar costs 9 manats, vegetable oil cost 19–25 manats per liter, and chicken thighs cost 16 manats per kg — which is to say that according to the state, women’s contributions are viewed as no more valuable than a small grocery haul.