Thursday, April 16th 2009 at 15:32 PM
Controversial law condoning marital rape dropped after western outcry
A controverial law which condones marital rape has been shelved after a huge outcry in the West, claiming it is against human rights, resulting on the law being put on hold, pending a review.
The British Government expressed alarm at the law, which applies to the 15 per cent of the Afghan population that is Shia Muslim. President Obama called the law "abhorrent" at the Nato summit in Strasbourg last week.
Here are just a few extracts from the article over at the Times Online:
One of the most controversial articles stipulates that the wife "is bound to preen for her husband as and when he desires".
Later the law explicitly sanctions marital rape. "As long as the husband is not travelling, he has the right to have sexual intercourse with his wife every fourth night," Article 132 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."
And...
Article 133 reintroduces the Taleban restrictions on women's movements outside their homes, stating: "A wife cannot leave the house without the permission of the husband" unless in a medical or other emergency.
Article 27 endorses child marriage with girls legally able to marry once they begin to menstruate.
The article then goes on to say:
Reaction to the law among Shia women was largely supportive, Ruqiya Nayel, a Shia woman MP from Ghor province, said.
"This law clearly violates our rights," she told The Times. "Unfortunately most of the women I represent welcome this law because 98 per cent of women are uneducated and do not know their rights. A very few educated women are very sad about it."
You can read the full article here.
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