Chechen women in mortal fear as president backs Islamic honor killings

ACHXOY-MARTAN, Chechnya — Chechnya's government
is openly approving of families that kill female relatives who violate
their sense of honor, as this Russian republic embraces a fundamentalist
interpretation of Islam after decades of religious suppression under
Soviet rule.

In the past five years, the bodies of dozens of young
Chechen women have been found dumped in woods, abandoned in alleys and
left along roads in the capital, Grozny, and neighboring villages.

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov
publicly announced that the dead women had “loose morals” and were
rightfully shot by male relatives. He went on to describe women as the
property of their husbands, and said their main role is to bear
children.

“If a woman runs around and if a man runs around with her, both of them should be killed,” said Mr. Kadyrov, who often has stated his goal of making Chechnya “more Islamic than the Islamists.”

In today’s Chechnya, alcohol is all but banned, Islamic dress codes are enforced and polygamous marriages are supported by the government.

Some observers say Mr. Kadyrov’s
attempt to impose Islamic law violates the Russian Constitution, which
guarantees equal rights for women and a separation of church and state.

“We are a traditional, conservative society, but the government has gone overboard,” said Lipkhan Bazaeva, head of the Women's Dignity Center,
a nongovernmental organization promoting women’s rights in Grozny.
“They are declaring unacceptable limits on women — as an individual, she
has no rights even if her husband beats her, despite Russian laws.”

Though
observers agree that honor killings are on the rise in Chechnya, the
issue remains largely taboo among locals — making official statistics
hard to come by.

“You hear about these cases almost every day,”
said a local human rights defender, who asked that her name not be used
out of fear for her safety. “It is hard for me to investigate this
topic, yet I worked on it with [human rights activist] Natasha
[Estemirova] for a while. But, I can’t anymore. I am too scared now.
I’ve almost given up, really.”

Estemirova, who angered Chechen
authorities with reports of torture, abductions and extrajudicial
killings, was found in the woods in 2009 in the neighboring region of
Ingushetia with gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Her killer or
killers have not been found.

Few dare to openly challenge Mr. Kadyrov’s
rule. But activists say some young Muslim women do so surreptitiously,
placing themselves in a constant tug of war between two value systems.

Milana,
a ninth-grader in Grozny, wears thick eyeliner, dons tight miniskirts,
smokes cigarettes and dates boys: all things a proper Muslim girl is
forbidden to do in Chechnya.

She said she has heard it from her
father countless times: A Chechen girl who loses her virginity before
marriage is a prostitute, and Allah will punish her.

“If only my
parents knew some of the things I did,” she said with a giggle. “My
parents are too strict with me, but it is like that here.”

Analysts say dating can be an escape for teenagers such as Milana who often live double lives.

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