Chechnya: Women without headscarves targeted

Chechnya: Women without headscarves targeted

Via Moscow Times:

Chechen women said Friday that they had been harassed and some physically harmed by bands of men for not wearing headscarves during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Bearded men in traditional Islamic dress have been roaming the streets both on foot and in cars since Ramadan started on Aug. 11, demanding bareheaded women wear a headscarf, Grozny residents and witnesses said.

"Two men came up to me, one furiously fingering a prayer bead, and said it wasn't pretty to have a bare head during Ramadan," said Markha Atabayeva, 38. "They instilled such fear in me."

Atabayeva said she had seen a group of men with automatic rifles taunting women for not wearing headscarves.

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See also: Chechnya: Paintball attacks for not wearing headscarves