Performers in the state-controlled culture sector in western Turkmenistan have been given a strict deadline to lose weight and "look presentable" in time for the nation's Independence Day, several employees told RFE/RL.
Actors, singers, dancers, and others claimed that authorities in Balkan Province told those who were overweight to slim down ahead of public celebrations on September 27 or face consequences.
The officials allegedly threatened that those who fail to lose weight would lose their jobs and no longer be allowed to appear onstage or on television.
The order is said to come from Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, the authoritarian former president and head of the powerful People's Council of Turkmenistan, which oversees all branches of government and sets its policies.
"Based on [Berdymukhammedov's] instructions, overweight cultural workers were ordered to lose weight and specifically to lose belly fat by September 27," an actor told RFE/RL. "They were verbally and firmly warned that if they did not lose weight they would be expelled from the cultural system."
Another performer said authorities don't want them to be "too thin," either.
They spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing retaliation by a Turkmen government that notoriously does not tolerate any criticism of its policies.
Turkmenistan has in the past ordered police officers to lose weight or lose their jobs.
Health Food Out Of Reach
Performers in the culture sector have hastily started dieting to meet the deadline, according to an actor at the Saparmurat Turkmenbashi State Drama Theater in the regional capital, Balkanabat.
But he said many people complain they can't afford healthy food or gym memberships with their meager wages.
"Our salaries are not enough to buy decent quality vegetables, fruit, wholegrain bread, or lean meat for a healthy diet," the actor said, adding that performers are also expected to pay for all of the costumes they wear to events.
Low wages have forced people to buy cheaper food options such as white bread, another employee told RFE/RL.
"For example, broccoli costs of a fortune. A kilogram of apples costs 50 manats, a kilogram of orange is 60 manats, and a monthly gym membership is 1,000 manats. With our monthly salary of 3,000 manats, you can't afford much of these," he said.
According to the exchange rate set by the Turkmenistan National Bank, the nation's currency is 3.49 manats against the US dollar. But in reality, the manat has a much lower value than the official rate.
Restrictions On Daily Life
Turkmenistan's neighbors, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, have in the past given their overweight police officers six-month deadlines to shape up for the job. At least 10 Tajik policemen who did not meet the deadline were fired from the force.
Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, the father of current President Serdar Berdymukhammedov, is known for his obsession with what he calls a healthy lifestyle.
Every April, the tightly controlled nation marks the Month of Health and Happiness, when state employees and students take part in mass jogs, bike rides, and physical exercise routines.
Many people in the gas-rich Central Asian nation are unhappy with the oppressive policies of their government, widespread corruption, and poverty that has forced millions of Turkmen to flee their country.
"Now Berdymukhammedov wants to control even the size of our bellies," the drama theater worker in Balkanabat said. "It was one of the last things the government didn't have a say over."
