A report by Human Rights Watch includes testimonies from dozens of Chechen women who were threatened or even attacked with paintballs by young men enforcing the ‘virtue campaign’. The rights group says some attacks involved Chechen security forces.
The campaign has the backing of President Ramzan Kadyrov, relied on by Moscow to stabilise the region.
In 2007, President Kadyrov issued an edict that banned bareheaded women from entering state buildings. Though this is in direct violation of Russian law.
In June 2010, dozens of women were targeted in paintball attacks for not donning headscarves or because their skirts or sleeves were not long enough.
One woman interviewed for the report described her terror as she thought a real gun was being aimed at her. She said the incident left her bruised and scared ever to leave the house without a headscarf again.