Afghanistan to rework proposed law for women, Cannon says
Afghanistan’s justice officials have promised to delete “contentious clauses” from a proposed law that critics alleged would allow men to rape their wives, Canada’s foreign affairs minister said.
“The contentious clauses in that piece of legislation will be removed, and the piece of legislation is under review by the Department of Justice in Afghanistan,” Lawrence Cannon said Monday at a news conference in Washington.
The assurances for the changes came from Afghanistan’s foreign and interior ministers, who agreed to let him know when the legislation has been reworked, he said.
The proposed law — which has been widely condemned, including by NATO leaders at last week’s summit — would apply only to the minority Shia community.
Among other things, it would forbid women from refusing to have sex with their husbands and also require women to get a male relative’s permission to leave the house.
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...
Last I checked, Laurence Cannon wasn’t part of the Afghan government. Thus, his statements intended to placate concerned Canadians are meaningless.
Meanwhile, five years of effort to import western values of sexual equality in Afghanistan don’t appear to have taken very deep root, otherwise the proposed law couldn’t have gotten as far as it has.
To illustrate conditions for women in modern Afghanistan: from a 2005 UNESCO paper: ‘Models and Realities of Afghan Womanhood: A Retrospective and Prospects’
‘Pashtun custom is famous for its extreme seclusion of women which acts as marker for the respectability of the family.’
To re-establish their honour and identity after years of exile and war, Pashtuns developed ‘a radicalised Pashtun code, henceforth presented as true Islam, and this indeed is the situation today. … Thus many rural Pashtuns today pride themselves in keeping many of those injunctions which are expressly forbidden by Islam. … These include the levirate (widows being obliged to marry their deceased husband’s brother), the refusal of inheritance for women, the giving of daughters to compensate for a murder committed by a son of the family, ‘honour’ killings, blood feuds, the stoning of women on the suspicion of dalliance (as opposed to the proof required by Islamic courts). The ubiquitous burqa has become the symbol and uniform of this new kind of ethnicized Islamism, even in Northern Afghanistan.’
‘The hybrid constitution governing Afghanistan today brings together orthodox Shariah and conventional democratic forms that are completely at odds with the reality of equal rights within an Islamic state…. The major political formations depend on former warlords who remain close to fundamentalism.’
‘In 2005, the (Afghan) Chief Justice Minister, Shinwari, exclusively versed in Islamic law, attempted to institutionalize the repression of women, banning female singers, opposing co-education, and stating publicly his lack of reticence regarding stoning of ‘adulterous’ women. Shinwari was responsible for naming judges all over the country who like himself had no training in secular law.”
Still not good enough. The world community should keep up the pressure until this law is completely rescinded. As for Sharia Law in Canada? If I were PM for a day, I would outlaw it, no ifs, ands or buts, because the law if contradictory to laws that already exist in our Criminal Code (i.e, rape, assault, unlawful confinement).
What is the point to support a government who uses archaic religious beliefs to oppress women? How many more Canadian soldiers must die for nothing?
What happens when the UN withdraws ? I’ll tell you. The country will revert to sharia law and the US will have its pipiline which was the reason for the invasion in the first place.
Leave your response!
Join Us & Be Informed
Upcoming Events
Categories
Information Cloud
afghan documentary afghanistan afghanistan history afghanistan legislation afghan jokes afghan poem afghan presentation afghan star american idol style aryan barack obama dari poetry department of justice Entertainment ferdowsi freedom genghis khan ghorids Hafizullah Amin halvah Hamid Karzai happiness History international security ismalic civilization jallaluddin rumi Khalilullaah Khalili king Zahir Shah lawrence cannon marriage mujahideen Mullah Nasruddin Mullah Nasruddin Jokes munich security conference NATO peace poem Poetry President Daoud Red Army rumi september 11 Students Against War taliban wineArchived Articles
Highest Rated
Most Commented
Most Viewed