On Sunday, the Russian North Caucasian republic of Chechnya celebrated Women's Day. This day Chechen men usually wear traditional Chechen outits and present flowers and head-scarves to women to congratulate them on their day, according to the holiday's organizing committee. Chechen television and radio stations prepared cycles of programmes, dedicated to the celebration, and Chechen press issued several big publications about women, who had made a lot for the republic and the whole country.

      The Chechen Women's Day, introduced by the republic's leader Ramzan Kadyrov three years ago, is marked on third Sunday of September. Now this holiday is held in all major cities and towns of the republic.

        It should pointed out, that that date is not so much a holiday, as a reminder of a tragedy of 1819, when a group of Chechen women was kidnapped by Russian soldiers during the Caucasian War. While crossing the Terek river, girls jumped into the river, as they didn't want to be touched by the killers of of their parents and husbands.

        However, last year, several days after the republic celebrated the holiday, some Russian and international media sources reported that women's rights are being infringed in the republic, with women being forced to observe the Islamic dress code. The government and law-enforcers strongly denied the accusations.

Sources: Newsland RIA Novosti