Authorities of Chechnya report about reunification of 786 divorced couples

Under instruction of Ramzan Kadyrov, in all municipalities of Chechnya, special commissions work to convince divorced spouses to restore families. Local residents doubt durability of marriages concluded at request of the authorities.

During 4.5 weeks of their activities, the commissions counted more than 5000 divorced couples and managed to achieve reunification of 786 families. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by an official from the Chechen leader and government.

According to an official from the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) for Chechnya, Islam treats reunification of divorced spouses as one of the most important acts pleasing to Allah.

In some cases, ex-spouses decide to reunite after conversations with theologians, while in others, the elders and relatives of ex-spouses are involved in their reconciliation, said the Chechen SAM's official.

Kheda, a resident of Chechnya, noted that she agreed to return to her husband for the sake of children.

When it comes to family reunification, theologians emphasize that a woman should obey her husband and stay with children, added Zarema, a resident of Grozny.

However, one of the main arguments of religious figures is the Chechen leader's appeal to reunification of former spouses. "It is clear that when everyone puts pressure on you, then you have to agree. The question is how long such a repeated marriage will last," said Zarema.

Vakha, an employee of one of the Chechen public institutions, expressed his doubts concerning the effectiveness of the commissions' activities. According to him, theologians and officials "secretly compete in who will reunite the highest number of former couples" in order to report to the authorities about their successes.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.