The Commission for the Harmonization of Marriage and Family Relations identified 6,020 divorced Chechen families, the state-run broadcaster Grozny said.
According to the broadcaster's report, 3,038 of those families "decided to reunite" following the organization's efforts. Since its establishment, the commission has held more than 25,000 events related to family issues.
The so-called Commission for the Harmonization of Marriage and Family Relations and the Reunification of Divided Families has existed since July 2017. Its creation was initiated by Ramzan Kadyrov, who said that the future of society as a whole depends on the institution of the family. In an interview with Kavkazsky Uzel, the research center Kavkaz. Mir. Razvitie noted that such commissions often operate through pressure and can be traumatic for family members.
"In most cases, it is actually coercion. Thousands of families cannot divorce for no reason and then genuinely be ready to overcome all their grievances, misunderstandings, and disappointment. Even Islam permits divorce. Living together is a very complicated matter," said the center's president, Saida Sirazhudinova.
🔶 Human rights groups regularly report cases of Chechen women fleeing because they fear being forced into marriage. Chechen woman Seda Suleymanova left for St. Petersburg because of such fears but was detained and taken back to Chechnya against her will. Her whereabouts have remained unknown ever since. In its study of the evacuation of women from Chechnya, Dagestan, and Ingushetia, the legal team Ad Rem identified several reasons why women choose to flee: domestic violence, mothers being prevented from seeing their children, and the risk of so-called "honor killings."
