Goodbye My Chechnya

For young girls in Chechnya the most innocent act could be seen as a violation of the rules. A girl caught smoking is cause for arrest; while rumors of a couple having sex before marriage can result in an honor killing. 

After nearly two decades of war and 70 years of Soviet rule, during which religious participation was banned, modern-day Chechnya is going through an Islamic revival.  The Chechen government is building mosques in every village, prayer rooms in public schools, and enforcing a stricter Islamic dress code for both men and women. 

I was 20 when I first travelled to Chechnya on assignment for Time Magazine. I continued to visit the region over the course of two years, and watched as the republic transformed with Chechen authorities enforcing a compulsory Islamic dress code for women.

This is an exploration of the lives of young Chechen girls who witnessed two decades of war and are now coming of age in a republic that is rapidly re-defining itself as a Muslim state in Russia.

2011-2012