Female rights defenders are sceptical about Mezhiev’s words about mothers’ chances to see their kids

The call of Salakh Mezhiev, the Mufti of Chechnya, not to prohibit mothers from seeing their children in the event of a divorce, if authorities and the society stay inactive, will hardly affect men in the republics of Northern Caucasus, female human rights defenders have noted.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Salakh Mezhiev stated that relatives should not forbid children to see their mother after their parents' have divorced.

Aida Mirmaksumova, a co-founder of the "Fathers and Daughters" project, has no hope that the call of the Mufti of Chechnya not to prohibit mothers from seeing their children will have any impact on men. According to her story, a common practice is when they state that the mother had herself refused from her children.

Aida gave an example when a woman from Chechnya was separated from her children. "She gave birth to two children in Austria, but her husband secretly took them to Chechnya, although he had political asylum. The mother had not seen her kids for many years," Ms Mirmaksumova has informed.

Svetlana Anokhina, a Dagestani human rights defender from the NGO named “Marem”, could not recollect any cases when divorced mothers were eventually allowed to see their children in Chechnya. In her opinion, the Mufti’s words will not affect men’s behaviour.

The practice of banning mothers’ meetings with their children is typical for Chechnya and Ingushetia, said Saida Sirazhudinova, the president of the Centre for Studying Global Contemporary Issues and Regional Problems entitled "Caucasus. World. Development".