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Afghan Leader Backs Law That Legalizes Rape

Jill

So much for women’s rights in Afghanistan:

Hamid Karzai has been accused of trying to win votes in Afghanistan’s presidential election by backing a law the UN says legalises rape within marriage and bans wives from stepping outside their homes without their husbands’ permission.
…
The final document has not been published, but the law is believed to contain articles that rule women cannot leave the house without their husbands’ permission, that they can only seek work, education or visit the doctor with their husbands’ permission, and that they cannot refuse their husband sex.
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Ustad Mohammad Akbari, an MP and the leader of a Hazara political party, said the president had supported the law in order to curry favour among the Hazaras. But he said the law actually protected women’s rights.

“Men and women have equal rights under Islam but there are differences in the way men and women are created. Men are stronger and women are a little bit weaker; even in the west you do not see women working as firefighters.”

Akbari said the law gave a woman the right to refuse sexual intercourse with her husband if she was unwell or had another reasonable “excuse”. And he said a woman would not be obliged to remain in her house if an emergency forced her to leave without permission.

Ah, so she can refuse sex if she’s feeling “unwell” or has an excuse other than “I don’t want to have sex.” And she can leave her house without permission if it’s on fire. Score one for feminism.

via UN Dispatch.

14 thoughts on Afghan Leader Backs Law That Legalizes Rape

  1. “…even in the west you do not see women working as firefighters.”

    Really? When was the last time Mr. Akbari actually visited the west? Or maybe I was just imagining the women I saw fighting fires in full gear.

    “But he said the law actually protected women’s rights.”

    Two words: Bull. S**t.

  2. Yeah, I picked up on the same point. Since we’re not strong and all fire-fighters, rape is okay inside a marriage. What the hell kind of logic is that.

  4. US: Los Angeles County Should Test Thousands of Rape Kits (Video)

    12,000 Untested Kits Undermine Investigations and Justice for Victims

    Los Angeles) – Los Angeles County officials should move urgently to test a backlog of more than 12,000 rape kits – the physical evidence collected after a sexual assault – to ensure justice for rape victims, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

    “Women who are raped have a right to expect police to do all they can to thoroughly investigate their case, but in LA they often feel betrayed to learn that their rape kits are never even tested,” said Sarah Tofte, researcher with Human Rights Watch’s US program and author of the report. “And in some cases, failure to test means that a rapist who could have been arrested will remain free.”
    http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/03/31/us-los-angeles-county-should-test-thousands-rape-kits

  6. How do feminism and multiculturalism exist together? In many cultures around the world women are considered secondary citizens so I ask you, which should prevail – respect and tolerance for cultural norms, traditions, and sovereignty or the feminist believe that women are universally equally.

    As odd as it may sound, I think the passing of this law is good for the country of Afghanistan overall. See why: http://adaugeoindex.blogspot.com/

  7. I think Multiculturalism is more about respecting people who practice and believe other than you. It takes a bit of humbleness to accept this but it is a necessary position in order to avoid violence among different people.
    I feel one can still believe in the goals of feminism and still be a multi-culturalist if you believe in a hierarchy of goals. One may struggle for womans rights the world over but one also wants to reduce violence in the world. So, while these laws are a sort of violence against women, one must also accept the sovereignty of other nations.
    I guess it’s about not FORCING your believes on your others but you can still hold on and value ones own beliefs.
    Then again if one can believes that the achievement of universal equality for women is more important than the rights of other nations, but then again how do you go about achieving that goal without resorting to violence? Boycotting, like we did to South Africa. I think many in Afghanistan would welcome that.
    Just to be sure, this is simply enshrining into official law what is often practiced already. Whether they pass this law or not, many women in Afghanistan will be at the mercy of not only their husbands but their communities as well.

  9. Who cares that males are usually stronger than females? That just makes the case for female superiority all the louder. We’re meant to direct the brawny beasts to do our bidding, and thanks to modern technology (i.e. Feministe’s logo) we no longer need tolerate their insolence!
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  10. I don’t really think that respecting other cultures and fighting for women’s rights are mutually exclusive. Part of it is recognising that no culture is static, and that, in this case, there are feminists and human rights activists in Afghanistan working to improve women’s status. It’s much better, IMO, to work with them if asked; bombing people is a lousy way of ‘liberating’ them.

  11. Pingback: Afghan rape law outrages Canada, unreported in US | NJN Network

  12. It’s not an April Fool’s joke ? No ? Really not ?

    …

    Concerning the multiculturalism versus feminism pseudo debate.

    It all comes down, I think, to what values you place above all : tradition, or certain inalienable rights.

    If it’s tradition, then, eh, well… feminism shouldn’t exist since it challenged western values at some point. And still does.

  13. But this can’t possibly be. We went into Afghanistan and freed women from the evil Taliban and now everything is happiness and equality in Afghanistan. Bush said so himself. And Obama agrees that we need to bring more of Afghanistan under US backed rule so it must be true. (Do I even need to put a snark tag on this?)

  14. I don’t even know how to describe Afghanistan properly to people. Awful shit like this makes perfect sense there. Afghani culture and lifestyle, especially in the Pashtun regions, is so primitive as to defy belief. Nothing has changed in 2000 years except now they have cellphones, heavy weapons and little motorcycles.

    Regular Afghanis seem decent folks, but the Talib cats are pretty much uniformly first-class shitheads. Hamid Karzai is a politician, and shady even as politicians go. But there is no moral comparison between him and the Taliban.

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