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Survival Strategies of Homosexual and Bisexual Women and Transgender Persons in the North Caucasus

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Survival Strategies of Homosexual and Bisexual Women and Transgender Persons in the North Caucasus Let snakes pierce my white breast For breathing in a flaming earthly love. Because the look in my eyes was full of passion, Let them be covered with earth. Ankhil Marin Survival strategies of homosexual and bisexual women and transgender persons in the North Caucasus Qualitative study findings Queer Women of North Caucasus Support Group Initiative The study was supported by Moscow 2020 When you are not alone, things don’t seem so scary. Female respondent, the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania Survival strategies of homosexual and bisexual women and transgender persons in the North Caucasus The report presents the findings of a qualitative study conducted by activists of the Queer Women of North Caucasus Support Group Initiative. The findings describe survival strategies for homosexual, bisexual women and transgender persons in a sexually repressive culture. The study required the observance of safety rules and confidentiality for both respondents and some of the. This study can be applied to the work of psychologists, social workers, and lawyers providing assistance and support to non-heterosexual women from the republics of the North Caucasus. Moreover, the study is an attempt to document the current situation regarding the rights and the status of homosexual, bisexual women and transgender persons. © Queer Women of North Caucasus It’s been more than three years since the stories of violence and lawlessness against (perceived) LGBT people in the North Caucasus, Russia, broke out of secret prisons and launched a powerful international mobilization for emergency assistance and the fight to restore justice. This publication is of tremendous importance for everyone who continues this fight and seeks to rely on a complete and nuanced understanding of reality. It amplifies the voices of those who have not been heard enough: LBT women and transgender people in the North Caucasus. It makes visible what has remained behind the scenes for a long time: life scenarios of those who live and will stay in the North Caucasus republics of Russia. It documents stories without which our knowledge of the situation of LGBT people and women remains incomplete: experiences of LBT living in a repressive culture. We are grateful to the respondents and activists of the Queer Women of North Caucasus Initiative Group for the study and its publication. It brings invaluable support to human rights, activist and supporting communities committed to protecting and advancing the rights of LBT women and transgender people in Russia. ILGA-Europe 2 Contents Terms and abbreviations 5 Introduction 8 1. General factors determining the situation of women in the republics of the North 12 Caucasus 2. Historical changes in the social status of women in the North Caucasus 19 3. The concept of “shame” and punishment for the violation of gender norms 25 4. Threats to homosexual and bisexual women in the North Caucasus 33 5. The situation of homosexual and bisexual women and transgender men in the Chechen 39 Republic 5.1. Upbringing in the parental family. Opportunities and limitations 39 5.2. Attitudes towards the parents of lesbians, bisexual women and transgender 48 persons 5.3. The problem of sexualised violence 48 5.4. Strategies for building personal relationships online and in real life 49 5.5. Key survival models 52 5.6. The risk of being outed 56 5.7. The life values of lesbians, bisexual women and transgender persons 59 5.8. Strategies for building the future 60 5.9. Military conflicts as a traumatic factor 62 6. The situation of homosexual women in the Republic of Ingushetia 64 6.1. Upbringing in the parental family. Opportunities and limitations 64 6.2. Key survival models 64 6.3. The risk of being outed 66 6.4. The life values of lesbians, bisexual women and transgender persons 67 7. The situation of homosexual, bisexual and transgender women in the Republic of 68 Dagestan 7.1. Upbringing in the parental family. Opportunities and limitations 70 7.2. Allies in the family 73 7.3. Domestic violence 74 7.4. Sexualised violence, early marriage and forced marriage 75 7.5. Realising one’s sexual orientation and gender identity 79 7.6. Coming out and being outed 80 7.7. Honour killings based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender 84 expression 7.8. The life of lesbians, bisexual women and transgender persons in Dagestan 86 7.9. Survival strategies 89 7.10. The life values of lesbians, bisexual women and transgender persons 95 7.11. Strategies for building the future 96 8. The situation of homosexual and bisexual women in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic 98 8.1. Upbringing in the parental family 98 8.2. Sexualised violence 99 8.3. Realising one’s sexual orientation and gender identity. Coming out and being 100 outed. 8.4. The life of lesbians, bisexual women and transgender persons 102 8.5. Survival strategies 103 8.6. Strategies for building the future 104 9. The situation of homosexual women in the Republic of North Ossetia – the State of 105 Alania 9.1. Upbringing in the parental family. Opportunities and limitations 106 9.2. Realising one’s sexual orientation 108 3 9.3. Coming out and being outed 108 9.4. Honour killings based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender 110 expression 9.5. The life of lesbians, bisexual women and transgender persons 110 9.6. Survival strategies 111 9.7. Strategies for building the future 112 10. Findings of a survey of non-heterosexual women in the North Caucasus on strategies 114 for building the future Conclusion 116 List of references 120 4 Terms and abbreviations Adat is a term denoting the surviving norms of pre-Islamic legal systems and the legalities not reflected in Sharia law. Adat is the combination of customs and traditional folk laws in a wide range of areas of contractual relationships, family relationships and the like. Aksakal is the head of the clan, the elder, a venerable elderly man. Outing is the public disclosure of personal information regarding a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity without his / her consent. It is not equivalent to coming out. Ahir Zaman (Arabic) is the end time, the end of the world in Islam. Biological sex is a set of biological characteristics, which serve as the basis for attributing the male or female sex to a person or defining them as an intersex person. Bisexuality is the romantic and sexual attraction between individuals of the same or different sex or gender. Blat rules (thieves' law, thieves' code) are unwritten rules and norms of behaviour among thieves during the times of the Soviet Union and in former Soviet countries. These were developed as a result of the isolation of criminals (thieves) as a social group amidst government opposition. Butch lesbian is a lesbian who exhibits a masculine behaviour pattern. Wali is a guardian, the oldest man on the father’s side the family, who is responsible for the woman’s behaviour. Gender is a set of characteristics defined by society and culture, which determines the social behaviour of men and women, the relationship between them, certain psychological characteristics and roles in life. Gender identity is an individual’s self-awareness of their intrinsic characteristics of gender, which may or may not coincide with the gender assigned to them at birth. This includes the sensation of one’s body and other forms of expression, such as clothing, speech, and behaviour. Two types of gender identity are distinguished: cisgender – when a person’s biological sex matches their gender identity, and transgender – when a person’s biological sex does not match their gender identity. Gender norms are a set of rules of conduct and the requirements for people based on the gender assigned to them at birth. Homosexuality is the romantic and sexual attraction to people with a certain gender identity. Homophobia refers to uncontrolled negative emotions (fear, disgust, anger, etc.) in relation to lesbians and gays. In a broader sense it refers to any manifestations of a negative attitude (hatred, hostility, aggression) towards LGBTs. Heteronormativity is a model of social structure in which marriage is possible exclusively in between a man and a woman. Other civic relations also take into account the gender normativity of subjects, and all gender nonconforming persons are denied certain civil rights; it is the mandatory heterosexual lifestyle prescribed by society and the state for all people. Jamia / Jamaat are groups of Muslims formed with the aim of studying Islam together, performing religious rites, mutual assistance, regular fellowship, etc. Life strategy is a form or method of consciously planning and constructing one’s life in accordance with one’s values and aims by means of shaping the future step by step and orientating towards the long term. Iman is faith in the truthfulness of Islam; faith in Allah, angels, Scriptures, prophets, Judgement Day and retribution for good and evil. Qadi is a Muslim judge who passes verdicts on the basis of the interpretation of the Qur'an and Sunnah. 5 Coming out is the process of revealing one’s homosexuality, bisexuality or transgender identity to others. This process begins with self-acceptance and lasts a lifetime as one may come out to every new person they meet. Queer (translated from English as “strange”, “odd” or “perverted”) is a term that denotes any model of behaviour and identity that does not conform to the traditional, patriarchal model (e.g. LGBT+, BDSM, child-free, feminist, pro-feminist and other egalitarian models). Blood feud is a custom that developed in the times of the tribal system as a universal means of protecting the honour, dignity and property of the clan.
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