Support The Moscow Times!

North Caucasus Brochure Tells Women to ‘Defer’ to Men

Mikhail Japaridze / TASS

Authorities in Russia’s predominantly Muslim republic of Ingushetia have issued a brochure for the new school year instructing women to “defer” to men no matter their age.

The brochure “promoting the Ingush people’s traditional values” includes visual depictions of the “Ingush code of conduct” and is printed in Russian and Ingush as well as English. In July, the pamphlet made headlines for advising young people to avoid loud laughter.

The brochure tells Ingush girls that “a woman of any age [has] to defer to a man of any age,” the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty news outlet reported last week. 

“Women's beauty is shyness, politeness, a calm tone and keeping a distance from strangers. Women cannot shout and laugh loudly in public,” the brochure reportedly says. Wearing tight clothes, according to the brochure, is “improper.”

Beslan Tsechoyev, the mayor of the Ingush administrative center of Magas, denied that the leaflet discriminates against women and said that the authorities had consulted local elders and experts in Ingush traditions while drafting it. 

“Women stand up in the presence of men, showing respect to them no matter how old they are. Even a grown woman stands up in public and shows respect to a teenage boy,” Tsechoyev was quoted as saying.

Ingushetia, a predominantly Muslim region in the North Caucasus, has seen a rapid weakening of its traditional generational and gender hierarchies along with a simultaneous spread of fundamentalist Islam among young men, a recent study of families in the region said.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more