Acerbic Politics

These are the people American's are dying to lose their lives for. What a waste...

From the Progress Report
April 3, 2009

WOMEN'S RIGHTS -- AFGHAN PRESIDENT UNDER PRESSURE TO REVOKE LAW LEGALIZING RAPE:

In a transparent effort to "appease Islamic fundamentalists" ahead of elections in August, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan pushed through legislation on March 31 that legalizes marital rape. The Shi'a Family Law "negates the need for sexual consent between married couples, tacitly approves child marriage and restricts a woman's right to leave the home." The bill, which does not apply to Sunnis, states, "Unless the wife is ill, the wife is bound to give a positive response to the sexual desires of her husband."

After remaining "suspiciously quiet " on the matter, U.S. officials are now asking Karzai to turn back the offensive legislation. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confronted Karzai during this week's conference regarding Afghanistan at the Hague. "My message is very clear. Women's rights are a central part of the foreign policy of the Obama administration," Clinton said. That sentiment was echoed by State Department spokesman Robert Wood, who said, "We urge President Karzai to review the law's legal status to correct provisions of the law that limit or restrict women's rights."

NATO head Japp de Hoop Scheffer "said the planned laws violated human rights and were unjustifiable when Nato troops were dying to protect universal values." However, the bill is a "big tick in the box" for Karzai among Shi'a clerics and the Hazara ethnic minority who comprise important voting blocks for the "increasingly unpopular" president. As the head of women's affairs at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission said, "Because of the election I am not sure we can change it now. It's too late for that."