Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] "Honor killing" as a punishment for refusing to marry is not envisaged either in Islam, or in Sharia or Muslim customs, Caucasian scholars interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" commented on the persecution by relatives of four Dagestan sisters. Men in Dagestan often invoke the notion of "honour killings" for illiteracy to justify domestic violence, they pointed out.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 29, border guards in North Ossetia refused to allow four girls from Dagestan who had escaped from domestic violence to enter Georgia, and kept them at the checkpoint until their relatives arrived. The girls themselves claimed that they were beaten at home, forbidden to receive education and tried to force them to marry, including to a relative. They asked not to return them to their relatives, fearing that they were looking for them "to kill."
On October 30, the girls were allowed into the territory of Georgia, where they are in a safer place , human rights activists said.
Patimat Magomedova, Khadizhat and Patimat Khizriev and Aminat Gazimagomedova are relatives (two sisters, a cousin and a second cousin). Having run away from home, they spent three months in crisis apartments, journalist and human rights activist Svetlana Anokhina told the "Caucasian Knot".
Refusal to marry a man who is imposed by relatives cannot be a basis for an "honor killing," said Akhmet Yarlykapov, a senior researcher at the Center for Caucasus Problems and Regional Security, an employee of MGIMO .
"The fact is that honor killing is lawlessness. According to Sharia, a woman's guilt must be proven. For example, if it is a matter of treason, then four witnesses must confirm this fact. Only in this case, the murder of a woman can become possible, but only by the decision of the Sharia court. The perpetrator of the murder is also appointed by the decision of the Sharia court. It does not have to be a close relative. But what I say does not in any way relate to the history of these girls," he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
Women whose behavior is considered a disgrace to the clan by their relatives may become victims of "honor killings" in the Caucasus. These murders are committed by relatives themselves, most often by a father or brother, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Honor killings in the North Caucasus."
The notion of "honour killings" is generally inapplicable to this situation, the expert on the Caucasus emphasized. "It is impossible to kill for refusing to marry either according to Islam or according to adats . There are no such reasons in Islam. There are also no adats and customs. These are speculations of men who use domestic violence, they are used to forcing women to do what they consider right. And if the woman resists, he uses violence, threatens, kills and then explains it as honor killing, which is fundamentally wrong and illegal," Yarlykapov said.
According to Google : Adat is a generic term derived from Arabic to describe a variety of local customary practices and traditions as observed by Muslim communities
In many cases, these people refer to Sharia concepts, but they themselves do not know that Sharia prohibits domestic violence, the expert added. "In order to justify their actions, they invent and refer to honor killings. People take advantage of conservative sentiments in society, strive to make society support them. And these sentiments, coupled with the illiteracy of the population, which refer to Sharia, but little know about him, lead to stories like these girls have," he said.
Refusal of marriage cannot be a reason for "honor killing," the ethnologist, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergey Arutyunov also pointed out . “Marrying a relative is normal in many nations. Such a custom really exists. But there has never been a legal reason to kill for refusing such a marriage. It was in the last century. Now the prosecutor's office, the supervisory authorities must ensure that there is no forced marriage, as it is illegal," Arutyunov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
According to him, the murder is possible only by the decision of the Sharia court, if the woman has committed treason and there are at least four witnesses. "Other reasons, such as the refusal of marriage, cannot be the basis for killing a woman. This is invented by men to justify their actions. They interpret customs and adats in a wrong way, and, as a result, commit actions that contradict both Islamic traditions "Honor killing has become an excuse for any situations when a man believes that his honor has been hurt and you can resort to this concept," Artyunov said.
There is not even approximate data on the number of honor killings, Saida Sirazhudinova , president of the Center for the Study of Global Contemporary Issues and Regional Problems "Caucasus. World. Development", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
"The reason is that most of these cases “manage” to hide. There are many more of them than those that we know about and those that were sentenced. For this year, I have not conducted a study and have not analyzed yet. "I can't. But quite recently there was a case of the murder of a sister and a neighbor in Dagestan. It is known because it happened on the street. But most of the 'honor killings' are thought out and planned. Then the victim simply disappears and no one is looking for her," she said.
According to her, usually women and girls are killed, explaining these killings as "honour killings," for "tarnishing the honor of the family, shame, slander, behavior contrary to tradition." "And often just for gossip," said Saida Sirazhudinova.
In Dagestan, this is already happening on a systematic basis due to the fact that such facts are not recorded, she added. “Given the high number of “honour killings”, the support of the practice by the population, and the widespread occurrence, we can talk about the system at the moment,” Sirazhudinova emphasized.
More from Caucasian Knot:
Human rights activists consider the chances of sisters from Dagestan for asylum abroad to be high
Four Dagestani girls who accused relatives of domestic violence are still in Georgia, but plan to move to another country, human rights activists said. There were traces of beatings on the girls, as well as an attempt by border guards to prevent the sisters from being released, and this increased their chances of obtaining asylum abroad, they noted.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 29, border guards in North Ossetia refused to let four sisters from Dagestan who had fled domestic violence into Georgia, and kept them at the checkpoint until their relatives arrived. The girls themselves claimed that they were beaten at home, forbidden to receive education and tried to force them to marry, including to a relative. They asked not to return them to their relatives, fearing that they were looking for them "to kill." On October 30, the girls were allowed into the territory of Georgia, where they are in a safer place , the SOS Crisis Group, which helped the sisters, said.
Patimat Magomedova, Khadizhat and Patimat Khizriev and Aminat Gazimagomedova are relatives (two sisters, a cousin and a second cousin). Having run away from home, they spent three months in crisis apartments, Svetlana Anokhina, a journalist and human rights activist from the Marem organization, told the "Caucasian Knot".
The girls are still in Georgia, but in the near future they will go to another country, Aleksandra Miroshnikova, press secretary of the SOS Crisis Group, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent today.
"Now they are in relative safety, but it’s too early to talk about the complete absence of risks: the families of the girls said that relatives would also look for them in Georgia to return them home," she said, without specifying where the sisters would go.
The conditions for obtaining asylum depend on the country, Alexandra Miroshnikova explained. "Each country has its own rules and its own priority in considering applications. If a person is in danger in the host country, then the application can be considered. However, in order to be granted asylum in other countries due to domestic violence, it is necessary to document that violence has taken place, in Russia this the case is not being investigated, and in any region of Russia a woman will continue to be in danger, including from the side of law enforcement agencies or due to their deliberate inaction. It is extremely difficult to document all three factors," she said.
Evidence of violence and threats can be, for example, recorded beatings, the human rights activist pointed out. "Our clients recorded beatings," the press secretary of the SOS IC emphasized, noting that she did not have data on the frequency of refusals in asylum and their reasons.
For those who decide to flee abroad from domestic violence or threats from relatives, it is better to act through specialized non-governmental organizations, as they can provide both logistical assistance in terms of moving, temporary shelter and organization of life, as well as legal assistance in terms of applying for asylum in any country, filing a complaint in connection with the beatings and removing from the wanted list.
"There are a large number of organizations that help girls in the North Caucasus who have experienced domestic violence," Miroshnikova said, naming Marem, Kitezh, Sisters, Violence.No, Consortium of Women's NGOs, among such organizations. "SilSila" and "You are not alone." Even if these organizations cannot help, they will at least contact other human rights activists who will "definitely help," Alexandra Miroshnikova noted.
Svetlana Anokhina confirmed today that the girls are in relative safety and are in Georgia, and then they will go to another country. In her opinion, they have a chance to get asylum. "In the case of girls, there is not only domestic violence, but also persecution with the help of representatives of the state," Anokhina explained to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
At the same time, it is impossible to predict what kind of evidence of domestic violence and persecution will be accepted by the authorities when considering an asylum request, Svetlana Anokhina added.
Earlier, human rights activists interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" told how a victim of domestic violence should act if she plans to leave her family. In particular, they recommended that they write a statement asking them not to look for them, find a lawyer, refuse contact with their relatives and change their phone and SIM card, and ask for help in case of abduction. However, they stressed that all these measures may be useless, especially in the Caucasus, due to the fact that legal mechanisms do not work, the abduction of victims of violence by relatives does not lead to criminal liability, and the authorities prefer not to notice the problem.
The "Caucasian Knot" wrote about other cases when relatives tried to return home women who had run away from domestic violence. So, on October 18, 2021, two girls who had run away from relatives in Dagestan were taken against their will by the security forces from the crisis center in Kazan. The girls later got in touch, assuring them that everything was fine with them, and urged them not to look for them. They made these statements under pressure, because before escaping from their families, the girls asked for help for a year to leave the Caucasus, Svetlana Anokhina then pointed out.
In June 2021, 22-year-old Khalimat Taramova was abducted by security forces from a shelter in Makhachkala and returned to Chechnya. How this happened is described in the "Caucasian Knot" certificate " Khalimat Taramova: Victim of Traditions and Security Forces."
And yet again, more from Caucasian Knot:
Aina Gamzatova called on four Dagestan girls to return home
The adviser and wife of the Mufti of Dagestan, Aina Gamzatova, appealed to the girls who accused their relatives of violence and ran away from home with a request to return to her personal responsibility.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that, according to human rights activists, on October 29, border guards refused to allow four girls from Dagestan who had escaped from domestic violence to pass through the Upper Lars checkpoint, and kept them at the checkpoint until their relatives arrived.
Patimat Magomedova, Aminat Gazimagomedova, Khadizhat and Patimat Khizriev allege that they were beaten at home, forbidden to receive education, and tried to force them to marry. They asked not to return them to their families and complained about the threats. On October 30, they, together with their lawyer, were let into neutral territory, then Georgian border guards let them into the territory of Georgia, but they were afraid to leave the checkpoint, as their relatives were waiting for them. On the same day, the SOS crisis group reported that the girls “left the territory of the Georgian checkpoint andare in a safer place."
Aina Gamzatova turned to the girls, saying that she was not indifferent to their fate. "Now you have made a decision against the backdrop of accumulated fear, negativity and the prospects drawn before you. But it is very unlikely that life in a foreign land will be joyful and easy. If you have at least some regret about what happened, return back to Dagestan. Return under my personal responsibility!" - the adviser and wife of the Mufti of Dagestan wrote in her Telegram channel on October 30 at 19:12 Moscow time. Today, by 08:35 Moscow time, the post gained 2.4 thousand views.
Gamzatova noted that she knows people "who left like this, leaving everything and everyone behind."
"Some were forced to do this, someone hoped for a better life, believe me, they are all unhappy and doomed to the need to survive. If there is a desire, we will talk with your loved ones, if there is no such desire, we will find you an opportunity to live and study on your own " she wrote, addressing the girls.
The girls themselves thanked those who helped them. "Thanks to everyone who supported us. Thanks to the publicity, we were able to save ourselves," they said in their appeal, published on October 30 at 18:20 Moscow time in the Telegram channel of the SOS Crisis Group.
The post is accompanied by a video message in which the four girls thank the lawyers and the media for helping them and publicizing their story. "Thanks to the publicity, we were able to get out, escape, leave Russia. [...] Now we are in Georgia, everything is fine with us. [...] Of course, our relatives are looking for us, they promised to find us in Georgia," he says one of the girls in the video, which had 652,000 views by 08:35 Moscow time.
Recall that Patimat Magomedova, Khadizhat and Patimat Khizriev and Aminat Gazimagomedova ran away from home and spent three months in a crisis apartment, journalist and human rights activist Svetlana Anokhina told the "Caucasian Knot". She compared the case of the Dagestan women with the story of the Chechen Khalimat Taramova, who was taken by force from a shelter in Makhachkala by her relatives.
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