Thirteen years ago, 36-year-old Madina, a mail carrier in the Chechen village of Shatoi, decided to build a life of her own. She left an abusive, early marriage -- one in which she says she was permitted no sense of self -- and went to work.
Doing so carried a cost: As traditionally happens in Chechnya, the divorce cost her custody of her son.
That divorce, her newfound independence, and even her high heels and short skirts appear to go against the grain of what many consider “appropriate” for women in conservative Chechnya, but Madina shows no sign of backing down.
She describes her work as something that gives her independence, confidence, and, essentially, a sense of worth.
“If a woman doesn’t work, she’s not taken seriously,” Madina says. “A woman must work.”
Doing so carried a cost: As traditionally happens in Chechnya, the divorce cost her custody of her son.
That divorce, her newfound independence, and even her high heels and short skirts appear to go against the grain of what many consider “appropriate” for women in conservative Chechnya, but Madina shows no sign of backing down.
She describes her work as something that gives her independence, confidence, and, essentially, a sense of worth.
“If a woman doesn’t work, she’s not taken seriously,” Madina says. “A woman must work.”