Sevara and her husband of four years have separated after many arguments over what she calls his inability to hold down a job.
The two are no longer on speaking terms, and Sevara is searching for answers to her problems from a fortune teller, who lives near her home in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.
"She told me someone put a hex on us to destroy our marriage. It makes sense," says the 33-year-old nursery-school teacher, whose name was changed to protect her identity.
Sevara has been visiting her trusty soothsayer once a week, paying the equivalent of $5 each time to "remove the spell." But the fortune teller recently stopped seeing clients after she was warned by police, Sevara said.
Tajik authorities have intensified raids targeting fortune tellers and faith healers in recent months amid a new government clampdown on the centuries-old practices.
The Central Asian country's president, Emomali Rahmon, said last month that law-enforcement agencies have detained 1,500 people engaged in "witchcraft and fortune telling" and more than 5,000 "semiliterate mullahs," a Tajik euphemism for faith healers.
Rahmon said the measures took place on his orders, but he did not elaborate on the timespan during which the 6,500 arrests had taken place.
According to an Interior Ministry report dated August 24, more than 150 soothsayers were detained in that month alone.
Police and state media regularly publish the names and photos of alleged healers and occult practitioners detained in the raids. TV channels often then air their "confessions."
In an unprecedented move, police are now registering fortune tellers, faith healers, and their clients to keep a tab on them and their activities.
In June, Tajikistan introduced tougher punishments for fortune-telling, which has been outlawed since 2008.
First-time offenders face a misdemeanor charge, punishable by a fine or up to 15 days in jail. Repeat offenses, however, are considered criminal and punishable by a fine of up to $13,500 or two years in prison.
Soothsaying is also banned in Islam, to which the overwhelming majority of Tajikistan's some 10 million citizens adhere.
Blurred Lines
In Tajikistan, most fortune tellers also offer to "cure" the sick with so-called remedies based on traditional and religious beliefs, blurring the line between occult and faith healing.
There are also thousands of others who only practice faith healing, although many of them have little or no religious education or medical training, according to police.
The law does not prohibit faith healing, but dozens of people who practice it have been charged with other crimes, such as fraud.
Several male faith healers were jailed for molesting their female clients during their alleged healing rites.
Authorities released purported video of such incidents that were allegedly recorded by hidden cameras.
Most of those who seek help from soothsayers and faith healers are women.
Some sought-after soothsayers in Dushanbe have claimed in the past that their customers include family members of high-ranking government officials, seeking help on behalf of their relatives. RFE/RL cannot independently confirm that report.
No Shortage Of Clients
Despite being banned both by law and religion, fortune tellers in Tajikistan's conservative society have no shortage of clients who want a glimpse of the future and more.
According to several people who spoke to RFE/RL, customers often come to fortune tellers to cast a spell that would stop their spouses from leaving them, to make their businesses flourish, or prevent a relative standing trial from going to jail.
Fortune tellers and faith healers charge anywhere from an equivalent of $2 to several hundred dollars, depending on their popularity and location.
In the southern city of Bokhtar, a popular fortune teller has been named among those briefly detained and warned by police. But his trusted regulars continue to visit him discreetly, according to one his customers.
"He has stopped accepting clients, but I and several others still go to him when we want, pretending to be a friend or a relative," the woman said on condition of anonymity.
Another client described her visits to soothsayers as "the only thing that makes [her] calm down and deal with emotions" that are running high amid a marriage crisis.
While Tajikistan is the only country in Central Asia to have banned fortune-telling, some neighboring states have also taken steps to restrict the practice.
Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan prohibited the advertisement of occult services, in 2016 and 2024, respectively.
Turkmen security services also conduct unannounced raids on fortune tellers' homes, demanding they get work permits and pay taxes based on their earnings.
Many ordinary Tajiks criticize the authorities for their "misplaced priority," saying the government should instead tackle more pressing issues such as unemployment, inflation, and a severe shortage of electricity in the country.
"We get just a few hours of electricity a day and we have to [go and] work in Russia to feed our families, but our government is chasing fortune tellers," a resident of the northern city of Khujand told RFE/RL on condition of anonymity. "It should instead focus on improving people's lives."
