Chechnya's Leader Tells Husbands To Lock Wives Up And Ban Them From WhatsApp
"Lock them in, do not let them go out, then they will not post anything," Chechnya's leader Ramzan Kadyrov was quoted as saying.
By Sadho Ram — 21 May 2015, 05:55 PM
Earlier this week, Ramzan Kadyrovhe, the leader of Russia's southern region of Chechnya, urged men to lock up their wives and ban them from using WhatsApp, the Huffington Post reported
According to a Reuters report, the leader of Chechnya has urged men to lock up their wives and ban them from using WhatsApp after outrage over the forced marriage of a 17-year-old girl to a married Chechen police chief spread on the messaging service.
Mr Kadyrov had earlier backed 47-year-old the police chief Nazhud Guchigov's marriage to the 17-year-old Kheda Goylabiyeva in apparent violation of Russian laws.
The teenager appears downtrodden as she stands feet away from her husband-to-be (right) at the registry office in Grozny.
Image via APThe Reuters report, citing Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, further stated that Nazhud Guchigov had threatened to kidnap the teenager and warned her family of reprisals if they did not agree to the marriage.
The Chechen President used an interview with a local broadcaster to condemn discussion of the controversial wedding on WhatsApp
"Lock them in, do not let them go out, then they will not post anything," Ramzan Kadyrov was quoted as saying.
"Stop. Behave like Chechens," he was reported as saying.
"The family honour is the most important thing. Do not write such things. Men, do take your women out of WhatsApp."
Last week he took to his Instagram account to criticise Russian media coverage of the marriage as "this fuss ordered by some liberals". "The girl's parents gave their blessing to this marriage," he claimed, arguing that reports to the contrary were filled with lies.
Kadyrov's chief of staff has since proposed legalising polygamy in Chechnya, allowed under Islamic law but not Russian. Most people in Chechnya, a Russian republic in the North Caucasus, are Muslim.
Polygamy is illegal in Russia, though it is permitted under Islamic law if both the first wife and any future brides consent, and their husband treats them equally.
Kadyrov is loyal to Russian President Vladimir Putin but enjoys a large degree of autonomy in running the mainly Muslim region, having put down an anti-Moscow insurgency that had given rise to two wars in Chechnya after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Mr Kadyrov, an authoritarian leader and close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has in recent years outlawed the abduction of brides and underage marriage.
He is also thought to be in favour of polygamy. His top aide Magomed Daudov said: "It all has to be in keeping with Sharia: But if a man can support more than one wife, then why not?"