Outrage after Dagestan swimming pool bars women, as activists call on reluctant Moscow to intervene

Some locals accuse Kremlin of taking a backseat and ignoring discrimination in the region

(REUTERS)

When it opened in June last year, the Arena spa-complex in Makhachkala claimed to be the pride of Dagestan.

Millions of dollars were spent turning the local football stadium into a sports multiplex. Boasting the largest pool in the North Caucasus, alongside a Finnish sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, massage cabinet and cafe, it became a popular destination for families from across the region.

But there was a problem. Or, more exactly, its management had a problem. Women.

On Monday, the spa-complex announced it would be resolving its issue by closing its doors to half of the population. They offered few explanations for the move. The Instagram account that announced the ban was by Tuesday morning deleted following the predictable wave of criticism. Several calls went unanswered when The Independent rang a few hours later.

A local publication reported a woman receptionist saying the entry rules were changed “on the boss’s orders.” According to some reports, the boss is herself a woman — the daughter of the mayor of Derbent, Dagestan’s second most important city.

Dagestan is a predominantly Muslim republic in the mountains that border the southernmost regions of European Russia. In Soviet times, its capital, Makhachkala, was somewhat of a cultural and artistic hub. But since the break-up of the Soviet Union, the region has been affected by radicalisation, war and a re-assertion of patriarchal rule.

While Moscow retains a massive military presence in the region, day-to-day power lies with local clans. Increasingly, these male-dominated groups have pushed for a conservative turn and reducing the roles of women in civic life.

Last year, major scandal broke when a local theatre decided to stage “Man hunt,” a play of supposedly pornographic character. The most explicit it got was a woman wearing a bra, but that did not prevent a vicious reaction. Khabib Nurmagomedov, the MMA fighter and local celebrity, led a call for the “men of Dagestan to wake up and instal order.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refrained from reprimanding the fighter, suggesting the need to take “regional traditions into account.”

Local activists accuse Moscow of taking a backseat and ignoring discrimination in the region.

“When the Kremlin entertains talk about local traditions, locals here are happy, but they don’t understand Moscow is in fact equating Dagestan with an exotic zoo,” said Svetlana Anokhina, a journalist and campaigner living in Makhachkala.

“It means the Kremlin can sleep sounder when they send the military in. And it also turns the place into a ghetto, a place where people have no rights.”

The Independent understands that the Russian Justice Initiative, a legal advocacy organisation, is preparing to fight the case in Russian courts. Olga Gnezdilova, their legal representative, said the spa-complex’s move was in obvious contravention with UN equality conventions.

“We’re intending to raise this with the Russian general prosecutor’s office, and if they don’t make the correct moves, we will appeal in court,” Ms Gnezdilova said.

“On the other hand, it’s almost certain that media coverage will be more effective than any legal route.”