Human rights activists to present report in Moscow on coercion of women into Islamic dress code in Chechnya

Activists from the Human Rights Watch plan to hold a press conference in Moscow to discuss the report of this organization "Women should know their place: enforcement of Islamic dress code for women in Chechnya".

The report focuses on "the pressure on women in Chechnya in June-September 2010" and "ongoing efforts to bring to obedience all those who would not wear headscarves and follow other rules of the imposed dress code," runs the statement of the Human Rights Watch, which has arrived to the "Caucasian Knot".

The press conference with presentation of the report will be held on March 10 and attended by Rachel Denber, director of the Human Rights Watch for Europe and Middle Asia; Tatiana Lokshina, Russia's researcher of the Human Rights Watch and author of the report; and Svetlana Gannushkina, head of Civil Assistance Committee and a member of the HRC "Memorial".

For the first time the issue of strict standards of women's appearance were publicly announced by the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov back in 2007. He said that women's clothes should match Chechen traditions. Women with uncovered heads were no longer let into the building of state institutions; later, the rule was gradually spread over other public places, including recreation and entertainment areas.