While women are free to wear apparel with masculine accents in most countries, that is no longer the case in the Russian republic of Chechnya, where the government has banned apparel with “masculine elements.”

Gazyrs, which were traditionally used to store gunpowder for rifles, are now off-limits for designers per the Chechen Culture Ministry. They reportedly “contradict traditional customs and cultural values.” Separately, last month a Chechen Republic authority Amir Sugaipov used social media to advise women to wear head scarves. Those, who do not, will face “explanatory talks.” Sugaipov said, “From an aesthetic, religious, Chechen adat, tradition and customs perspective, a girl with a covered head looks much more dignified and beautiful.”

Stanford Law School professor Richard Th

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