NISHONOY AZIMOVA

OSHOBA VILLAGE, TAJIKISTAN

Nishonoj is a 36–year-old sensitive, modest woman. She has a very large, 14-member family. Her husband is the oldest in the family. He is home three to four months per year and the rest of the time he works in Russia. His earnings are their main source of income. They have one son and one daughter. Because of the large family, there are many happy, joyful days but also many problem-filled, challenging days. The women do their housework together which makes it easier, and the men work to support the family. She enjoys their large family because she also grew up in a large family, but sometimes she needs to get away from her noisy home. After she got married she could not get pregnant for five years and then she lost her long-awaited child. This was the worst experience in her life, also because according to their local custom, if a woman cannot have a child for a long time the couple is pressured to divorce so the man can find another wife. Now she has two children and she thanks God for those two joys. Nishonoy enjoys planting flowers and taking care of her flower garden. She hopes to take a trip to nearby mountains with her family in the spring when there are many wild tulips blooming there. She is a good spinner and likes her work. She is very happy that she learned how to make export grade yarn. Now she has her own money that she can spend herself. Soon she will be moving into her own house and she spends her money to buy dishes for the house. The rest she spends on sweets for her children.