Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed a law in February, curtailing the freedoms of Shiite women. Karzai supported the law to gain Shiite support in the upcoming presidential election. What would the law do?
- “Unless the wife is ill, the wife is bound to give a positive response to the sexual desires of her husband.”
- Wives are obliged to have sex with their husbands at least once every four days.
- Women can only leave the house if they have "a legitimate purpose."
- Wives cannot work or get an education without their husband's permission.
The law triggered a firestorm of criticism, both international and Afghani. In response, Karzai ordered a review of the proposition to verify that it does not violate Afghanistan's constitutional protections. Even if though it had been passed by Parliament and signed by Karzai, the act does not become law until it is published in the official gazette.
However, Karzai also defended the measure, saying it had been "mistranslated" by the Western media.
The law only applies to Afghanistan's Shiites, who make up between a tenth and a fifth of the population. But women's rights groups are worried that it could influence pending legislation concerning Sunni families and violence against women.
About 300 women took to the streets of Kabul on April 15 to protest the law. They were taunted as "enemies of Islam" and, oddly, "whores." Some women professed their support for the law. Other women were members of the police force separating the two groups.
I would like to see more of them.
