On Thursday March 7, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon congratulated women of Tajikistan on Mother’s Day, which is celebrated in the country on March 8, according to the Tajik president’s official website.

“…Woman-mother is the source and creator of life, a symbol of purity and beauty, a woman is a storehouse of love and fidelity, a living embodiment of maternal tenderness and sincerity,” Tajik leader notes in his message of congratulations.  

“…We, children, should strive to appreciate loving mothers, their work, cares, so that we may serve them and receive their good blessings, because mother is the most sacred, most precious and priceless creation for a person and deserves honor, love and care…

“…Whereas women and girls make significant and valuable contributions to political, economic, social and cultural life of the country, the state and government of the country put the issue of ensuring their rights and interests in first place…

“…Taking this opportunity, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all respected and dear mothers, women and girls of the country…  We are living witnesses to the worthy achievements of mothers, all women in difficult days for Tajik national state, that is in the years of the imposed civil war imposed in the early 1990s.” 

Recall, International Women’s Day has been known in Tajikistan as the Day of the Mother since March 2009.  Congratulating women on March 8, 2009, President Emomali Rahmon said that International Women’s Day has only been celebrated on March 8 for about 100 years, but that ancient Aryan women -- the ancestors of the Tajiks -- had special days both for mothers, specifically, and for women in general.