On November 25, the world community celebrates the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Thousands of women around the world suffer from violations of their rights, discrimination and, in particular, violence. Unfortunately, Crimea is no exception.
After the occupation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, hundreds of activists came under repression for their civic position. At first it was only men. However, the Russian authorities did not stop and began to infringe on the rights of the female half of the peninsula’s population.
The most vulnerable group is the wives of political prisoners in Crimea. As a rule, religious, not very wealthy, large families. After the arrest of the sole breadwinner, the responsibility for providing for the family falls on women. In this regard, they cannot pay enough attention to raising children, and are also deprived of the opportunity for full self-realization in society.
A common form of psychological violence against these women is denial of visits from men. They often don’t see each other for several months.
A negative trend has been the prosecution of Crimean activists in criminal and administrative cases. Women are systematically subjected to repression and even cases of murders and disappearances have been recorded.
Since 2014, we have recorded:
2 arrests in absentia:
journalist Hulsum Khalilova
daughter of political prisoner Eleonora Bekirova
1 criminal persecution:
singer Jamala
12 prosecutions:
Elina Mamedova
Larisa Kytaiska
Halyna Dovhopola
Anna Sukhonosova
Nina Malakhova
Zarema Kulametova
Zarema Umerova
Valeria Holdenberh
Irina Horobtsova
Iryna Danylovych
Leniie Umerova
Emine Zekeriaieva
We see that women in Crimea are subjected to violations of their rights and psychological violence by the occupation authorities.
We demand that Russia fulfill its international obligations, stop discrimination and violence against women and the unlawful persecution of all residents of Crimea.