WUNRN
The Chechen
Republic informally, Chechnya, a federal subject of Russia. It is
located in the Northern Caucasus mountains, in the Southern Federal District.
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Morality drive focuses on low-cut clothing and other signs of behaviour seen as un-traditional and therefore inappropriate.
By Artur Israilov in Grozny (CRS No. 426 09-Jan-08)
The
authorities in Chechnya are engaged in a drive to revive and institutionalise
Chechen national values, but some argue they are going about it the wrong way,
with instructions issued from on high telling women what they should and
shouldn’t wear.
Outside the entrance to the Youth Chamber in the Chechen capital Grozny hangs a
new sign saying, “Women without headgear not allowed in the building”.
Similar signs have appeared outside many other government buildings.
The Press House got its signpost with similar wording last month, but changed
it a week later for a slightly politer one saying, “Women are respectfully
asked to observe national dress traditions”.
Either way, though, the rules are being strictly enforced – the security guards
refuse to allow women in if they are not wearing headscarves, whether they are
guests or are employed by the press ministry or one of the newspapers located
in the building.
The dress code for women is just part of a wider campaign launched late last
year to promote “morality and the revival of national traditions”, after
pro-Moscow president Ramzan Kadyrov spoke out on the issue on a number of
occasions.
On one visit to the Chechen State University in Grozny, Kadyrov appeared
unhappy at the un-Chechen-like way students were dressed, not to mention the
number who were bunking off classes.
Approaching a group of youngsters in the yard, he asked one of them, “Are you a
Chechen?” The lad said he was, but looking at him with his unshaven face and
his hands stuck in his pockets, the president muttered, “Doesn’t look like it”.
That same evening, Kadyrov summoned education officials and the rectors of all
higher educational institutions for an emergency meeting at which he hectored
them on their performance. He said he had been so angry with what he had seen
at the university that his first instinct had been to resign from the
presidency
The education chiefs were electrified into action, and they were quickly
followed by officials in charge of other state-run institutions.
Now female students are not admitted to classes at the State University unless
they are wearing dresses rather than other forms of clothing, while their male
counterparts have to wear ties.
The university has also become the first academic institution in Russia where
smoking is formally banned everywhere on its premises, for students and staff
alike.
“In civilised countries they set aside special smoking areas even in those
places where it’s natural to smoke, such as restaurants, cafes and bars. But
there’s such a small percentage of smokers in our institution that we decided
to ban it outright,” said Professor Baudin Bakhmadov, dean of the law faculty,
and a supporter of the move.
“The new rules impose discipline on the students and require them to adopt a
more respectful attitude towards study. Introducing such rules is conducive to
respect for the traditions of the Chechen people and for Muslim standards.”
European-style wedding dresses considered too revealing, with a décolleté or
bare shoulders, are no longer on sale in Chechnya. Again, this goes back to the
president’s own views. “Brides are a symbol of modesty, but recently they’ve
begun wearing dresses that are too revealing,” he said. “If things carry on
like this, we’ll soon have forgotten all our national traditions and our
identity.”
In addition to banning things, the authorities are actively trying to promote
their vision of traditional Chechen culture through the media.
Local television has begun running broadcasts telling people of the evils of
drugs and tobacco, explaining the national traditions, and showing footage of
students and teachers discussing Chechen ethical values.
Some government institutions have begun holding fashion shows to let their
employees see the kind of clothing that does not conflict with Chechen
tradition.
The culture ministry has revived the Soviet-era institution of “arts councils”
made up of established authors, poets, composers and choreographers who debate
the merits of new songs and other productions. Only once they have approved a
new work can it be placed in the public domain. They are looking at the
personal appearance of artists as well as their output.
“The nature of their profession means artists are always at the centre of
attention so they have to set an example with behaviour and outward appearance
that correspond to the Vainakh [Chechen] ethic,” said culture minister Dikalu
Muzakayev.
Chechnya is a constituent republic within the Russian Federation and the
“national traditions” campaign has provoked a storm of media criticism in the
rest of the country. Various commentators have complained that Islamic law is
being introduced in Chechnya or that Soviet-style censorship of the arts is
coming back in, and predicting that the end result will be a new outburst of
Chechen separatism founded on radical Islamic ideas.
Kadyrov is unrepentant in the face of such accusations, telling his critics,
“Shouldn’t one feel sorry for parents who have devoted years and their last
penny to bringing up their children and giving them then best they can, only to
see them become smokers, alcoholics and drug addicts, of no use to them or to
society at large? That’s what we’re fighting against,” he said. “I’ve
personally never touched a cigarette or a drop of alcohol.”
Inside Chechnya, many older women and plenty of men, too, approve of stricter
rules of behaviour.
Aset Ibragimova, a 63-year-old resident of Grozny, “I remember how young people
were in past decades, the girls always neatly dressed and behaving in the
manner prescribed by tradition, while it was considered shameful for boys to be
ignorant of the traditions. Now that’s all being eroded.”
However, many others are left feeling uncomfortable at the somewhat high-handed
methods being used to impose these standards, and at the idea that morality can
be reduced to what people wear.
“My behaviour hardly depends on whether I wear a headscarf or not,” said
Rumisa, a 22-year-old female student.
“There does need to be a campaign for spiritual and ethical values in public
life – that’s great,” added Grozny resident Luiza Isaeva. “But it shouldn’t be
done by the methods they are now employing. There needs to be a proper programme,
instead of the situation we have now where everyone is making it up as they go
along.”
Many believe that the way women dress should be a matter for themselves and
their families, and that to try to modify it is an unwarranted intrusion.
“Attempts by outsiders to tell women how to behave or what to wear amounts to
interference in family matters, in other words it is in violation of
traditional Chechen social relationships,” said historian Islam Dadayev.
Political scientist Edilbek Khasmagomadov agrees it is wrong to judge moral
standards by the way people dress. Nor does he think the campaign will have
much success. “This propaganda would make sense if Chechnya were isolated from
outside information, but we have all the TV channels and internet access, so
it’s hardly going to work”.
Instead of instructions, he argues,“we need moral authorities whom young people
might want to emulate”.
A member of Chechnya’s official Muslim establishment added that clerics, who
have been recruited to help instil traditional values, must approach the issue
with “painstaking finesse”.
“A sudden assault is not going to resolve the problem of moral education for
young people,” he said.
Meanwhile, Abubakar Sambiev, a Grozny resident, argued that Kadyrov’s government
should be devoting its energies to more pressing matters.
“Instead of fighting corruption, it’s a lot easier to pretend to be doing
something by campaigning for morality,” he said.
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