• The ABANDONED

  • The ABANDONED: Socio-economic impact of enforced disappearances on women in Chechnya

    This is a research study on women whose relatives went missing in Chechnya. Their voices have remained unheard for too long.

    When a man disappears without a trace, his family loses not only a provider but also faces poverty, social stigma, and a lack of support. We conducted this research to understand how women, whose loved ones went missing during the armed conflicts in Chechnya, manage to survive.

    This research attempts to examine the socio-economic fate of women whose relatives have disappeared in Chechnya and who have been left without a breadwinner during the severe years of war, by analysing the economic consequences faced by the families of victims of enforced disappearance. The analysis is based on respondents' answers to questions about their social status, sources of income, material support from the state and relatives, and employment following the disappearance of their loved ones.

    The full text of the research report is available by the links: Russian, English

  • What the numbers hide:
    6,000+ people missing
    No investigations, no compensation
    Thousands of women left to fend for themselves

    What we did:
    Verbal interviews with women left without support
    Comprehensive analysis of their social and economic struggles
    Real-life stories of pain, resilience, and hope

    What we discovered:
    90% of women lost their primary source of income
    Many lost their homes and were forced to survive alone
    Minimal of social benefits
    Social stigma and discrimination

    Research Methodology:
    In-depth interviews with 17 women
    Anonymous and safe participation
    Focus on real-life experiences and struggles

  • Stories

    Grief

    • "I don't cry in public, I don't whine, but when I'm alone and I think about him, I get very sad, I scream and cry. I ordered a painted portrait of him and put it on the wall at home. Sometimes I look at it and feel so bad"
    • "I broke down there, I lost my health, and since then I've been in a depressed state, unable to feel anything. Indifference"

    Hope

    • "She still has his belongings, which she put together in the hope that her son would return. She kept his photos in albums and carried the last one in her wallet"
    • "Every car that stops in front of the house, every scream in the night - all the thoughts that they are bringing him back now. During the morning prayer, I go outside, open the gate and make dua. Every morning"

    Devotion

    • "I have lived for my children and that is the saddest fact of my life. I have practically no health. I'm registered in oncology. I thought what I was doing was for the children. I've been working like a draught horse. I shouldn't have done that, I should have taken care of myself, but it's too late"
    • "Raising my children, that's all. They finished school, I was able to educate them. The children are alive, healthy and well. I don't need anything else"

    Courage

    • "I'm a strong woman, firm, nothing in life would break me, never, never. [...] But when everything you have lived for, your whole life is trampled in the mud, rolled up there, and your child is ripped away from you like that, it is the most terrible thing that can happen"
    • "With the disappearance of our men - fathers, brothers - we did not give up, we became stronger"
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