Human rights activists have called the problem of discrimination against mothers a pressing one in Ingushetia.

Zalina Yevkurova, who demanded state attention to pressure from elders in custody disputes and state oversight of violations of the rights of mothers separated from their children, raised a pressing issue in Ingushetia and the North Caucasus. The state should not allow religion and tradition to take precedence over the law, human rights activists pointed out.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, Zalina Yevkurova, a native of Ingushetia, initiated a campaign to protect the rights of mothers in the North Caucasus in memory of her sister, Pyatimat, who died after a seven-year struggle to see her son, whom her ex-husband forcibly took from her. In her petition, Zalina Yevkurova emphasized that her sister and other mothers separated from their children also faced pressure and interference from elders, she noted. "In fact, tradition and religion are being used as tools of discrimination, not as cultural norms," the text states. Zalina Yevkurova demanded a legal assessment of elders' interference in custody disputes and the use of tradition as a tool of pressure, as well as state oversight of the situation regarding violations of maternal rights in Ingushetia and the North Caucasus. By January 19, the petition had garnered 82 signatures.

Human rights activists called the problems raised in the petition acute

The topic Yevkurov raises in her petition is extremely important, according to a representative of the human rights group "Caucasus Without a Mother."

"She is talking about discrimination against mothers. If the law allows for a fight, then the institution of elders is outside the law and above the law. This is a very brave act by Yevkurova. Extremely brave. To stand up to the elders. I understand why she is doing this. Her sister had a court decision. But the elders put pressure on her and her loved ones. An individual does not have the strength to resist," she said. To a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to the human rights activist, society undoubtedly plays an important role. "It ignores the laws. But the state must also intervene and prevent another legal system from taking precedence over the state," she pointed out.

According to the representative of "Motherless Caucasus," there are many cases of discrimination.

"Hundreds every year. These are the ones we know about. The problem is urgent," she noted.

In her opinion, there is a solution to this problem.

"Respect the mother's role in the child's life and do not deprive mothers of their original purpose. Motherhood and childhood committees have long been established. And the system of assistance to mothers must be fully operational. Separating a child from its mother, the most important person in life, is a lifelong trauma," the human rights activist concluded.

Coordinator of the "Marem" movement Katerina Neroznikova recalled several stories of mothers being prevented from seeing their own children in Ingushetia, including the cases of Kheda Patsayeva, Lizan Umarova, Asya Geroeva, and Zukhra Bakaeva.

"This is a huge problem. But the state has nothing to do with it; it simply does nothing about it. The state doesn't care; it's not as if it's bothered by these women who can't see their children. This problem is also evident in other republics of the North Caucasus. But in recent years, a patriarchal paradox has emerged in Russian regions as well, where fathers are taking their children away from their mothers and preventing them from seeing them," she told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The chair of the Civic Assistance Committee* Svetlana Gannushkina* called barriers to communication between divorced mothers and their children a "monstrous tradition."

"I once asked Yunus-Bek Yevkurov (head of Ingushetia from 2008 to 2019 - ed. "Caucasian Knot") to intervene in such a case; this was the only time he "He refused. He was ready to protect a person from the state, but not from the dictates of tradition and family," she told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Residents of Ingushetia considered it rare for teips to interfere in child custody issues.

A resident of Ingushetia, Khava believes that the problem of mothers being separated from their children is extremely important and painful.

"This is a pressing issue for us. We've only just started talking about it, but it's been going on for a long time," she told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to her, teips are unable to resolve this issue.

"The elders' position is often: let them do whatever they want, let them oppress women, as long as others don't find out about it. This is their most important principle. The issue is not resolved this way. It's only resolved if the woman has a strong teip willing to stand up for her. And it's very rare for a woman's teip to stand up for her in such a situation. They mostly say, to avoid worrying: give the child away, he'll grow up, he'll come to you himself, you'll get married, have another child, give it back. "And what happens to this child, to this mother later, no one cares," Khava said.

In her opinion, local government agencies are avoiding solving the problem.

The local workers, they don't like to solve this issue and don't solve it. On the contrary, they say, 'You're destroying the republic, you want to destroy the Caucasus,'" Khava complained.

According to her, imams have begun to speak out in support of women in recent years, and she believes this could be an effective solution.

"Imam Khamzat Chumakov has repeatedly said that such problems must be resolved according to Islam. Other imams are now saying the same thing. If people observed Islam properly, then there wouldn't be such global problems in these matters," Khava said.

Resident Ingushetia's Arsamag believes that women's issues of this kind should be resolved among teips and clans, and he is skeptical of the elders.

"These elders didn't support the rallies back then, adopting a pro-Yevkurov stance. They said it was a sin for them to go out and complain, because Yevkurov himself told them: women and men from our teip shouldn't go to rallies or protest anywhere. And no one will pay attention to them now; they should have their own clans to decide, and who will decide for them?" he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In his opinion, those who get divorced "mostly receive child benefits," so women "don't listen and see themselves as heads of the family." He suggested that many problems are caused by financial difficulties. "I believe the elderly will say nothing except that the youth are not what they used to be," Arsamag said.

It should be noted that in the North Caucasus, mothers often find themselves separated from their children after divorcing their husbands and spend years trying to at least see their children, according to a "Caucasian Knot" report. "Maria Smelaya is one of the mothers who was separated from her children in the Caucasus." On October 10, it was announced that the ECHR had found the rights of Muscovite Zhanetta Tukhaeva, who had sued the father of her two sons for custody in Moscow, Chechnya, and Dagestan, violated. Zhanetta still cannot see her eldest son, whom she has not seen for over ten years, despite numerous court rulings in her favor. She initiated the termination of her ex-husband's parental rights due to a 3.5 million alimony debt.

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