"Novaya Gazeta": young Dagestani women try to overcome patriarchal pressure

In Dagestan, young women's rights are systematically violated. Girls can be subjected to pressure in families; they are often forced into marriage, but some of them manage to defend their opinions, Dagestani girls told the "Novaya Gazeta" newspaper.

In its material published on October 26 and entitled "I'd still like [to get married] by love", the "Novaya Gazeta" told about young Dagestani women of different viewpoints and fates.

Dina, a 19-year-old Dagestani, told the paper journalist that her very religious parents forced her to put on a hijab when she was eight and when she was in the second form. At sixteen, she moved to her father in Moscow. There, he saw the correspondence on Dina's phone, found out that she was a lesbian, and beat her up. He quickly found a groom for his daughter, who was eleven years older than her, and whom she had seen only once in her life. A month after the wedding, Dina fled to her mother back in Dagestan. "My husband threatened by phone that he would take me to the mountains and kill me, but in the end he left me alone," the girl said.

In Makhachkala, we need a self-defence school for women, says Angela, 21, a vocalist in a rock band. She explained that when she was attending her violin classes, she was abused by some boys. "Earlier, all were atheists, and then there was a burst of interest in Islam. Radicals began appearing who misinterpreted Islam; it became difficult to study music in such conditions ... People in skullcaps came to our school and stated that music is a haram (a sin). There are adequate and truly religious people who perceive everything normally. But there are few of them. Hatred and patriarchy are not equal to Islam; it is important to understand it," Angela believes.

Asya, 22, a student, said that she combines her master's studies with the work as a nurse in a children's multidisciplinary hospital. "Our family is not very religious. We believe, but don't administer namazes (prayers). My father does not particularly like all this, same as I do. There are enough traditional Dagestani families around – young girls are already married and have children. There are about half of them in my social circle. Some are forced into marriage, and many such marriages are falling apart. Here, parents should think well and listen to their children," Asya has noted.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 27, 2021 at 04:19 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.