Legacies of Conflict

BBC World recently aired an episode of 'Our World' called 'Chechnya's Missing Women'. It gives an introduction of a problem that has come to threaten every woman in Chechnya - kidnapping and forced marriage.

Though the short documentary was not nearly enough time to explore the issue, it is one that needs attention.

Following years of conflict as Chechnya won de facto independence in 1994, a new war beginning in the late 90's when Russia re-invaded the country led to radical Islamicization of the conflict as rebels sought to mobilize youth and gain more funding from abroad. While many in the Caucasus have returned to the Orthodox Church or Islam, be it Sufic, fundamentalist, violent extremist or local traditional, it constant conflict and brutality from both Russian and rebel groups, all of which are also involved in criminal activity, have led to an environment of total impunity, where practices like kidnapping and forced marriage are justified by invoking Islam.

There is also a radio version you can listen to here.

In prolonged conflict, social systems, which provide clear structures for power and authority, break down, leaving a vacuum for strongmen like Chechen president Kadyrov to step in with their own methods and priorities. The conflict is heating up again in Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan after Russia declared its counterterrorism operations over on 16 April, and could begin to destabilize the whole region.