Feminist slogans find no response in Northern Caucasus

The absence in Northern Caucasus of actions like the feminists held in Baku on March 8 is caused not by local women's fear, but by their ideas about the appropriate social activeness, Svetlana Anokhina, a journalist, has explained.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 8, in Baku, a group of feminists initiated a march "Stand up against violence". About 50 women with posters came to the venue, but policemen interfered with their plans, declaring that the march was not sanctioned.

The absence of actions in defence of women's rights in Northern Caucasus is not due to women's fear of even greater oppression, but the lack of a public request for such demonstrations, Svetlana Anokhina, a Dagestani journalist, believes.

She has no information about the existence of feminist groups in Dagestan. Violations of women's rights occur there, as in other regions, but there are no activists, who are ready to challenge the patriarchal traditions. At the same time, the journalist has stressed that women in Northern Caucasus are not intimidated: they are ready to defend their rights when they see fit.

"Our women are developing in other directions. They oppose to [law enforcers' arbitrariness], demand to investigate kidnappings and abductions, and are engaged in human rights activities. We have a rather protest-prone region; and in Ingushetia, for example, women went out into streets on the border issue; but they will not come out to protest for women's rights. We have about the same thing in Dagestan. They will stand out for the land, but not for the women's rights; they have such mentality," Ms Anokhina has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 13, 2019 at 10:53 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.