Chechen residents report about methods of commissions for preservation of marriages

The commission for the harmonization of family relations created by the authorities of Chechnya helps to reduce the number of divorces, the republic’s Muftiate announces. In Chechnya, the problem of preserving families was previously solved thanks to the traditions of reconciling spouses without the participation of officials, an NGO activist notes.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that coercion has become the main factor in the practice of family reunification in Chechnya.

According to Musa, an employee of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of Chechnya, among the reasons for divorces are conflicts with relatives and everyday situations, such as one of the spouses being addicted to computers and gadgets. Most often, young couples get divorced.

As an example, the employee of the Chechen SAM cited the story of a local woman who said that her husband had almost stopped talking to her for the last two years, as he was devoting all his free time to computer games. The man played them at night and slept during the day instead of looking for job, the woman complained.

During their last conflict, the woman made claims to her husband. “Then he said while his friends were around: ‘I’m leaving you.’ That’s how we got divorced,” the woman explained.

Musa added that a psychologist worked with the couple. “They were received by the imam of the mosque they visit. The problem with job for the head of the family was resolved,” the employee of the Chechen SAM explained.

Earlier in Chechnya, there was a custom to reconcile quarrelling spouses, something like a people’s institution to help quarrelled families, said Lipkhan Bazaeva, the chair of the autonomous non-profit organization “Women for Development”.

“For example, your neighbours quarrelled and went their separate ways. The children were left alone. In this case, the neighbour is their closest relative, and people could not live in peace until they help the family solve the problem. They go to wife’s relatives to find out the reason of the quarrel. They show miracles of diplomatic negotiations, find arguments that will help reunite the family ... And how diplomatic, well-mannered, and smart they are will affect the outcome of the negotiations,” Lipkhan Bazaeva noted.

According to the activist, women in Chechnya began to leave their husbands quite often. “The main reason for woman’s leaving is to punish her husband for his misdeeds,” Lipkhan Bazaeva emphasized.