Chechnya Requires Marrying Couples Be HIV-Negative

Imams demand certificate before approving marriages
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 18, 2011 4:47 PM CST
Chechnya Requires Marrying Couples Be HIV-Negative
A girl walks near city decorations marking the upcoming New Year in downtown Grozny, Chechnya, southern Russia, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009.   (AP Photo/Musa Sadulayev)

Chechnya's Muslim authorities have handed down a new edict that requires all marrying couples to prove they are HIV-negative, Reuters reports. The order is not exactly a "law"—in fact, it violates Russian law, say human rights advocates—but given the wide influence of the nation's Islamic clerics, it carries great weight. An imam can now approve a marriage only after seeing an HIV-negative certificate.
(More Russia stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X