A special commission in charge of resolving conflicts between former spouses has been created in the Russian North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, a representative of the republican Islamic authority said on Monday.
The commission has been created on instructions from Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. It’s main goal is to “strengthen family values,” the Mufti council representative said.
But if it appears impossible to preserve a family and a couple gets divorced, committee members will “do everything possible so that former spouses keep respectful relationships,” he said.
For example, he said, there are some cases when one of the parents prohibits the other to meet with their children after divorce, “but a child should be deprived neither of the father’s care nor of the mother’s tenderness.”
The commission, which will operate under the spiritual guidance of Chechen Muslims, will involve psychologists, specialists in medicine, pedagogy, and family law, he said, adding “each case will be addressed individually and interests of both sides [in the conflict] will be taken into consideration.”
This is not the first initiative by militant-turned-Kremlin-ally Kadyrov intended to settle family and community conflicts in predominantly Muslim-populated Chechnya, where public mentality and behavior are still largely based on traditional religious values and norms and where women’s rights are often violated.
In August 2010, Kadyrov moved to decrease the number of “honor killings” in Checnhya by creating a special commission in charge of getting the conflicting sides make it up. The commission was disbanded last October, after Kadyrov announced that all families involved in “blood feud” conflicts have been reconciled.