Human rights defenders explained the social conditions of femicide in Dagestan.

The attitude towards women as property, impunity for violence, and the lack of protection from it create conditions for the murders of women in Dagestan, indicated the human rights defenders and experts interviewed by "Caucasian Knot."

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on October 30 in Makhachkala, 34-year-old Dinara Alkhassova, who worked in a women's taxi, went missing. She was found murdered on November 2. According to the investigation, her ex-husband could not accept the divorce and her new marriage and organized her murder. Four suspects are currently in custody.

The social conditions in which such crimes regularly occur were explained to "Caucasian Knot" by human rights defender and women's rights expert Aida Mirmaksumova, president of the Center for the Study of Global Issues of Modernity and Regional Problems "Caucasus. World. Development" Saida Sirazhudinova, and a representative of the project "Caucasus Without a Mother," who wished to remain unnamed.

The words of ex-husbands that a woman's work in a café or taxi supposedly brings shame to the family have nothing to do with real shame and serve only as a universal excuse for justifying violence, believes Aida Mirmaksumova.

"Dinara Alkhassova's ex-husband, who worked in a women's taxi, also told his accomplice in her murder that she was bringing him shame. And how exactly did she bring shame? By getting divorced and remarrying. If an offended and aggrieved man believes that a woman brings him shame, he doesn't need to look for a reason: whether she works in a taxi, works in a café, or stays at home. Three years ago in France, Larisa Arsanukaeva was murdered. Her ex-husband, with whom she had been divorced for three years at that time, committed the murder in front of their eldest and youngest three-year-old daughters. And he also said that she was bringing him shame. What shame did a woman in a hijab, who took care of the children and fulfilled all maternal duties while being three years divorced, bring? A man who wants to kill a woman will always be able to claim that she brought him shame and won't even be able to explain it," said Mirmaksumova to "Caucasian Knot."

The reasons lie in the persistent attitude towards women as someone else's property and the erosion of institutions of public condemnation of criminals.

"After a divorce comes murder, because in our Dagestani and Caucasian society, the victim is still blamed for being killed, raped, or beaten. This is a consequence of the fact that we still consider a woman to be the property of a man: first of the father or brother, and then of the husband. Moreover, after a divorce comes murder because criminals remain socially accepted in our society. There used to be a wonderful saying in the Caucasus: 'A scoundrel should not be in the family or the village.' This was said about murderers when the community expelled the criminal from the village. If a murderer continued to live in the village, the stain fell on the entire community. Previously, the entire family was expelled along with the murderer to avoid shaming others, so that boys and girls could marry with dignity. But now murderers are covered and protected: if you have money and you "prove" your innocence in court, then you are somehow innocent. This is a complex situation where a whole set of reasons comes into play," explained the expert.

In her opinion, classifying such crimes as "honor killings" is incorrect, as the actions of ex-husbands represent ordinary planned murders and an attempt to punish a woman.

"I wouldn't say that this is an 'honor killing.' Whose honor – the ex-husband's? Let him go and work it out with a psychologist. If we return to tradition, honor killings were committed by blood relatives: father, brother, uncle. By the way, recently, this is more often done to women, although previously men who brought shame to the family were also killed. An ex-wife is no longer your family, so let her go (far away) with her honor. If he says that she brought him shame and calls it 'honor killing,' then this is not an honor killing at all, but simply a planned murder and a planned punishment of a woman through murder," emphasized the interlocutor of "Caucasian Knot."

Cases of brutal reprisals by ex-spouses begin with attempts to maintain control over women, believes the president of the Center for the Study of Global Issues of Modernity and Regional Problems "Caucasus. World. Development" Saida Sirazhudinova.

"Yes, such cases are direct attempts at control that often go beyond all reasonable limits and turn into extremes," she told "Caucasian Knot."

Classic "honor killings" are usually committed by blood relatives, however, in the Caucasus, ex-husbands also often show aggression. "Although classic honor killings are characteristic of blood relatives, an ex-husband should not be included here. But in the Caucasus, there are known cases where both the husband's relatives and the ex-husband commit violence against a woman," explained the expert.

In her opinion, the high level of violence is facilitated by the lack of legal protection and the ineffectiveness of state institutions. "The gap in the system for protecting victims of domestic violence and the necessity for a woman to defend herself alone contributes to the persistence of the problem in the region and in the country as a whole," emphasized the human rights defender.

The aggressors' references to "shameful behavior" of women are a legal trick to mitigate punishment, believes the researcher. "Most likely, criminals will claim an honor motive because they hope for leniency and mitigation of punishment. Unfortunately, this motive can indeed become a mitigating factor in courts," said the interlocutor of "Caucasian Knot."

Femicide is facilitated by entrenched societal views that place men above women, according to the project "Caucasus Without a Mother."

"He has more power in the family, more rights to resources. Control over women's actions and lifestyles is also given to men. In the case of bad incidents, men usually bear no responsibility. They beat their wives, blackmail them, take money, take children – everything is fine. They are only caught and punished for murder, but murder is just the last and radical stage of what has been growing and worsening for years. All other forms of violence can be applied with impunity – but if violence against women is not stopped, it is highly likely to become systemic," said the representative of the project to "Caucasian Knot."

According to her, no one is working on preventing cases of femicide because the issue touches on traditional male privileges.

"How can I not be the master of my family? Who am I then? My religious brothers and coffee shop buddies will laugh! There is no institution, no one who would explain to men the evil, harm, and perniciousness of verbal domestic violence and 'beating' their wives, which they love to justify with religious permissions. There is no one who would actually rein in the brazen kitchen boxer in the Caucasus. The murder of a woman after a divorce is a crime of the same nature. The murderer punishes the escaped property. And also because neither society, nor power, nor institutions, nor any effective force explains to aggressors that this is not their personal woman, that they have no right to control her future and her life. There is no one to seriously curb these claims. That is why the problem is systemic. That is why femicide is gaining momentum," she noted.

The human rights defender reminded that domestic violence was recently decriminalized in Russia. Since the tradition in the Caucasus has always given men more power over women, domestic tyrants now have "no brakes or boundaries."

"In essence, rapists have no motivation to change their behavior. If for beating his wife he received at most a scandal and women's screams, and then the wife stayed with him for the sake of the children, and this happened many times and no one protects her seriously – he will only become more and more violent. This is an expression of a claim to property," explained the project employee to the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot."

The systemic inaction of law enforcement agencies and the lack of institutional protection directly provoke the escalation of violence against women after divorce, stated the human rights defender, a researcher of women's rights in the Caucasus, who wished to remain unnamed.

"Unfortunately, the vicious logic of 'kill, then come' continues to operate in the region, due to which women's reports of harassment, blackmail, and threats from ex-spouses gather dust in police archives for years. Law enforcement agencies prefer to perceive this as a private family conflict, unwilling to intervene and thereby freeing the hands of aggressors. We lack effective protection orders, specialized crisis centers under state protection, and systematic monitoring of repeat offenders is not conducted at all. As a result, a woman who has gathered the courage to take a step towards divorce finds herself completely unprotected in the face of an embittered ex-husband convinced of his impunity," she told "Caucasian Knot."

A book about violence against women in Dagestan has been removed from sale

The novel by Natalia Yeletskaya "Salikhat" about the situation of women in Dagestan has been removed from sale on the AST publishing house's website and in major book services. The heroine of the book is a 16-year-old girl from a Dagestani village, whom her father forcibly marries off to a widower. In April 2026, the head of the Dagestan branch of the Union of Russian Writers, Miyasat Muslimova, complained about the novel to the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor General's Office.

Book bans and attacks on researchers show the taboo nature of the topic of violence, where attempts to speak about the problem are perceived by society as a blow to honor, noted Saida Sirazhudinova.

"The story with the novel 'Salikhat' is a paradox. It shows how the local intelligentsia has risen against the topic of violence, which is actually extremely relevant. For them, a blow to honor is not the existence of the problem itself, but the conversation about it. This is exactly what happens with my research on honor killings, mutilating operations on women's genitalia, and domestic violence. I receive hate and constant threats just for speaking the truth, because to say this means to inflict a blow to honor, and that is always dangerous for life. According to the logic of opponents, one must remain silent and not air family secrets. At the same time, society can easily justify committing a crime against a woman or child," said Sirazhudinova to the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot."

The representative of the project "Caucasus Without a Mother" pointed out that the topic of violence against women is "very unpopular in the public space." "This is an uncomfortable topic; men in the police and in power do not like it. Some of them are the same, while others simply do not want to lose male privileges. Therefore, talking about it is dangerous. If the novel disappeared without threats, that is good. Raising the issue of violence in the Caucasus is a serious risk with dangerous consequences," she noted.

The removal of the novel "Salikhat" from sale may not have a direct connection with the systemic silencing of the problem of domestic violence, believes Aida Mirmaksumova. "I do not believe that the disappearance of this novel from sale fits into the system of silencing domestic violence. It often happens that a book does not sell well and is simply discontinued. For example, I had a hard time finding Salman Rushdie's 'Midnight's Children,' but can we say that this fits into the system of silencing problems in Indian politics? I think something else is at play here, and it does not relate to the topic of domestic violence," she said.

The public taboo on the topic of violence and the justification of criminals destroy social safety mechanisms in the region, pointed out the human rights defender, who wished to remain unnamed.

"When society shames not the murderer, but the woman who tried to break free from the cycle of violence or simply start earning independently, it creates a fertile ground for new tragedies. The removal of books from sale, hate towards researchers, and attempts to silence the problem are a conscious choice in favor of isolating victims. As long as the law enforcement and judicial systems turn a blind eye to systematic threats, and society continues to operate under the premise of concealing 'family secrets,' ex-husbands will continue to believe they have the right to control someone else's life and health," summarized the expert.