I'm sick about this development in Afghanistan

[hornblower]

http://www.cbc.ca/crossroads-afghanistan/story/2009/08/17/afghanistan-family-law-wives-husbands.html

 

Women's rights activists alleged Monday that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has used a constitutional loophole to enact a law that allows minority Shia Muslim husbands to refuse food and money to their wives if they deny them sex.

 

The activists suspect Karzai took the step to appease conservative Shia clergy ahead of Thursday's presidential election. Nearly 20 per cent of Afghans are Shia and could become an influential voting block as Karzai runs for a new five-year term.

 

 

This legislation was introduced a few months ago, was received with a lot of protest in Afghanistan & internationally, and was supposed to be tabled until the next legislative session. But now it's the law.

 

I feel ill for the women there.

[i.love.lucy]

:iagree:Terrible.

[Peela]

It's absolutely horrible.

I read the book A Thousand Splendid Suns a year or so ago, and it really opened my eyes to what life is like for many women in Afganistan.

[Friederike in Persia]

Great that you care, though you're so far away!

 

On a more humerous note, an American friend of mine brought some drops from the States, that are sprinkled into a dogs nose, and then it's not interested in sex any more. When her neighbours heard, all of them wanted some for their husbands!!!:lol:

 

PS: Tajikistan is just north of Afghanistan, still Islamic, but not as conservative.

[KingM]

I wish we (meaning the West) would be more forceful in speaking out against the abuse of women in this part of the world. I think we're afraid, since the excuse is Islam, and we don't want to criticize religious beliefs, but of course there are plenty of Muslims who don't treat women this way, so I think that's a red herring.

 

And it doesn't matter anyway, as abuse and oppression of women needs to be denounced, regardless of how or why this is happening.

 

PS: Tajikistan is just north of Afghanistan, still Islamic, but not as conservative.

 

I live all the way in rural Vermont, and yet there is a Tajik couple who live nearby. We've spoken a bit in Russian (they grew up in the Soviet Union), but I think Tajik is a Persian language, isn't it?

 

Anyway, it sounds like a beautiful, remote part of the world that would be great to visit some day.