Is Afghanistan’s President Finally Listening to Western Leaders?

May 2009 International Article, National Scene Magazine

http://www.nationalscenemagazine.com/html/international.html

Is Afghanistan’s President Finally Listening to Western Leaders?

After Urging of Foreign Leaders, International Criticism, Afghan President Hamid Karzai Reviewing Law that Makes it Legal for Husbands to Rape Wives


Written by: Karen Benardello


After receiving international criticism over the new ruling that many believe makes it legal for husbands to rape their wives, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said during a news conference on Saturday, April 4, that the law will be examined and will be sent to the country’s Justice Ministry for review. If the parliament finds that it violates Afghanistan’s constitution or Shariah law, “measures will be taken,” Karzai said.

Karzai signed the law into effect last month in an effort to regulate the Shiite community, which makes up 10-to-20 percent of the country’s 30 million people. Many people and organizations, including the United Nations Development Fund for Women, are outraged over the law, as Article 132 legislates the frequency of sexual relations between Shiite husbands and wives. The article directly says “the husband has a right to sex every fourth night unless the wife is ill.”

Many western countries have urged Karzai to review the law, especially after he spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton about it. But during the news conference, Karzai said he studied the law earlier in the day and didn’t see any problems with it. Instead, he complained that the Western media had mistranslated it, and instead focused on an article that restrict Shiite women’s rights to leave their homes.

Karzai said he also feels that the law should be reviewed by Afghan scholars and religious leaders. “I ordered the justice minister to review the law, and if there is anything that would contravene the country’s constitution or Shariah law or the freedom our constitution gives to Afghan women, without any doubt there will be changes in it, and again it will be sent to the parliament of Afghanistan,” Karzai said.

If this law stays intact, women’s rights will have taken a step back. Afghanistan seemed to have taken a step in the right direction after the Taliban government, which banned women from appearing in public without a body-covering burqa and a male escort from her family, fell in 2001. The passing of this law in the first place just shows what a major step-back the American government and troops have had in Afghanistan since invading the country after the September 11th attacks.