http://www.rferl.org/content/New_Law_Seen_As_Setback_For_Afghan_Womens_Rights/1601618.htmlApril 03, 2009
New Law Seen As Setback For Afghan Women's Rights
by Golnaz Esfandiari
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According to the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, the legislation says that Afghan Shi'ite women will not have the right to leave their homes except for "legitimate" purposes, and forbids women from working or receiving education without their husbands' express permission.
The legislation explicitly permits marital rape by saying that a wife is bound to give a positive response to the sexual desires of her husband. It reportedly diminishes the right of mothers to be their children's guardians in the event of a divorce. And it makes it impossible for wives to inherit houses and land from their husbands -- even though husbands may inherit property from their wives.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has called on President Hamid Karzai to rescind the law, saying that it is reminiscent of the decrees passed by the Taliban in the 1990s.
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"We are concerned that now that the law has been approved, all forms of violence against women and the discrimination that exists against women in Afghanistan become legal," Sobrang said. "We are worried that similar laws, including the family law for Sunnis, could meet the same fate," and see a roll-back of women's rights, she said.
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During a March 31 conference on Afghanistan held in The Hague, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb mentioned the law in discussions with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Reports say Clinton later raised the issue during her private meeting with Karzai. Clinton told reporters at the conference that women's rights are a core element of U.S. foreign policy.
"You cannot expect a country to develop if half its population are underfed, undereducated, undercared for, oppressed, and left on the sidelines," Clinton said. "And we believe strongly that that's not in the interest of Afghanistan or any country -- and it's certainly not part of our foreign policy and our strategic review. So we will continue to work very hard on behalf of women and girls in Afghanistan and around the world.”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008976385_afghanrape03.htmlAfghan law legalizes marital rape, critics say
By FISNIK ABRASHI
The Associated Press
KABUL — A new Afghan law makes it legal for men to rape their wives, human-rights groups and some Afghan lawmakers said Thursday, accusing President Hamid Karzai of signing the legislation to bolster his re-election prospects. Critics worry the legislation undermines hard-won rights for women enacted after the fall of the Taliban's Islamist regime.
The law — which some lawmakers said was never debated in parliament — is intended to regulate family life inside Afghanistan's Shiite community, which makes up about 20 percent of the country of 30 million people. The law does not affect Afghan Sunnis.
One key article stipulates the wife "is bound to preen for her husband as and when he desires." "As long as the husband is not traveling, he has the right to have sexual intercourse with his wife every fourth night," Article 132 of the law says. "Unless the wife is ill or has any kind of illness that intercourse could aggravate, the wife is bound to give a positive response to the sexual desires of her husband."
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The United Nations Development Fund for Women, or UNIFEM, said the law "legalizes the rape of a wife by her husband." The United States is "very concerned" about the law, said State Department spokesman Robert Wood. "We urge President Karzai to review the law's legal status to correct provisions of the law that limit or restrict women's rights." Canada's Defense Minister Peter MacKay said he will use this week's NATO summit to put "direct" pressure on his Afghan counterparts to abandon the legislation.
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home /
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfmhttp://www.unifem.org/news_events /
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