Chechen government has reunited over half of divorced couples since 2017, often by coercion
The Chechen government’s official commission to resolve family conflicts has “reunited” couples in 3,038 of the 6,020 divorces that have occurred since it was created in 2017, the independent outlet Caucasian Knot reports.
The outlet noted that most of these “reunions” have occurred under duress.
According to the state-backed Grozny TV channel, since July 2017, the commission has conducted 25,124 inspections in which it found 6,020 divorced couples. After the commission’s interventions, 3,038 of the couples got back together, 2,344 of the couples refused to reunite, and another 905 “could not reconcile because of religious rules”.
The family conflict resolution commission was created on the orders of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. The body receives information about marriages directly from registry offices.
According to reporting by Radio Svoboda, members of the commission go through the motions of mediation while using pressure to secure “reconciliation”. Many women agree to return to the marriage in order to be able to see their children, as Chechen courts generally award custody to the father.
Human rights activists have emphasised that being forced to return to an ended marriage can be especially traumatic for women, especially in cases involving domestic violence.
