Residents of Chechnya condemn Chechen girl for contacting crisis centre

Social network users have blamed the girl from a Chechen family, who escaped to a crisis centre, for trespassing traditions, and criticized her behaviour during the interview with the "Grozny" TV Company.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 13, Darya Serenko, an activist at the "Kitezh" crisis centre, told about a 20-year-old Muscovite, whom her parents had wanted to marry by force and who took her to Chechnya against her will. On July 15, the girl's audio message appeared on the Internet, in which she stated that she had travelled to Chechnya voluntarily. On July 17, she repeated it in a special report broadcast by the "Grozny" Chechen State TV and Radio Company (ChGTRK), stating that she had turned to human rights defenders by succumbing to emotions; she had arrived in Chechnya for her vacations; and she had no plans for marriage.

Commentators have accused, on the page of the "Grozny" ChGTRK on the Instagram, the rights defenders of "inventing ridiculous stories." "Whoever invents all these gossips and absurd stories, who cares about complete strangers – it will never be clear," wrote kamila___ami. "For this, this organization should respond under the mountains' law," said the user chasi195dekor. "Human rights defenders have long sold their souls to the devil, just to make money on someone else's grief," the user luizabataeva95 has commented the publication.

Commentators have condemned the girl herself. "Her beauty is spoiled by her dishonesty," wrote __brat_vash__.

"At the age of 20, she is not small, so as not to know the elementary decency standards. She can't behave before men. I see neither a drop of modesty in her, nor any regret about what she did; therefore, she causes no pity. If she dared to run away from home, then this was preceded by other 'innocent antics,' to which her parents were too loyal. The parents are to blame – they shouldn't let too much to their children, especially girls," the user monikamaniana has written.

A girl should not be independent and even walk alone in the street, says amira_basya. "The fact that the girl had the courage to escape is already abnormal! Let it even be a crisis centre! The girl's place is at home!" she wrote.

Few commentators have supported the girl. "What traditions? To deprive a woman of the right to choose, the right to vote, not to allow her to marry the one she wants. Who needs such traditions?" the user podslushano_vostok argued in his comment.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 19, 2019 at 00:25 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.