Women’s Day in Chechen Republic

Chechen Women’s Day was established in Chechnya by the Republic’s leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, in 2009, to increase the social activity of women in the Republic. The Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of September, RIA Novosti reports.

An historic event inspired the foundation of the celebration: during the Caucasian War, on September 14th 1829, several Chechen women, captured by Russian Imperial forces, sacrificed their lives to avoid captivity.

Women’s position in Chechen society is traditionally more important than it should be according to Islamic dogma. Women could resolve a quarrel between two men and even participated in ceremonies before engaging enemy forces on the battlefield.

Nowadays some women play an eminent role in the life of Chechen society, for example, the widow of the first Republic’s president and the mother of the current Chechen leader, Aymani Kadyrova, who heads the regional Fund for social support.

Among renowned women of the Chechen Republic are the test pilot Lyalya Nasukhanova (1939-2000), poet Raisa Akhmanova (1928-1992) and actress Mariam Aydamirova (1926-1992). Several Chechen women today are successful journalists, professors and public figures.