A DEAFENING BLOW IS DEALT TO WOMEN'S RIGHTS : AFGHANISTAN STRIKES DOWN THE LAW PROPOSAL THAT WOULD HAVE PROTECTED WOMEN FROM VIOLENCE

 

photo: Rahmat Gul

The power to affirm one's self, and the right to live humanely has been long denied women in some parts of the world.  And even as much effort has been expended in trying to amelioration conditions in the poorest parts of the world, there are some countries that refuse to give women the right to a meaningful existence, free from violence.

In Afghanistan this week, conservative lawmakers have struck down legislative proposals to ensure some degree of protection for women.  The pretext for such blockage was the violation of Islamic principles. 

Women's rights, vis a vis the grip of fundamentalist islamic tenets, are not only tenuous but in some cases nonexistant.  

Indeed the legislation was not blocked because of unfitness of the rational kind, but solely because religious parties immediately rose against it, citing erosion of Islamic tenets and principles. 

In the words of one such religious imam "Whatever is against Islamic law, we don't even want to speak about it."

In fact, the law had been passed in 2009, by presidential decree.  It was just now brought to Parliament for vote, and that only because of the actions of a female lawmaker, who is a women's rights advocate.  Her name is Fawzia Kofi.    She has sought the Parliamentary vote to prevent the law from being repealed altogether by securing a vote by the legislature, or ratification.  

The law criminalizes child marriages, forced marriages, and the exchange of girls to settle debts or disputes.  It also makes domestic violence a crime.  Most poignantly, the law also provides rape victims with a discreet protection against reprisal for fornication or adultery.  

Kofi plans to run for presidential elections next year.  Needless to say, her life is in danger.  She is also disappointed that many of the Parliamentarians who voted against the law were women like her. 

The law, in fact, has not even been enforced diligently, if at all.  Only 7% of the reported crimes so far have even resulted in criminal charges. 

Two of the most contentious items in the law according to fundamentalist is the child marriage ban, and protection of a rape victim.  The religious party claims that the latter is an open invitation for women to misbehave and fornicate freely.  The former is even more enshrined in Islamic belief.  In addition, beating a woman is allowed, since any protest is considered disobiedence, something also prohibited by the Coran.  Only beatings that result in permanent physical damage are not allowed.  

Kofi hopes to revive the law.  The law is still in the books, even though not ratified by the Parliament.  It will be put to a vote again later in the year, she says. But the problem is that each time it is submitted, changes might be made to it that weaken it to please the religious party.  

The effort in fact, is seen as an attempt to Westernize Afghanistan, and the response to that is : "We cannot have an Islamic country with basically Western laws." These words, by the way, came from President Karzai, a man who has spent more than 20 years in exile in the United States, after fleeing Afghanistan. 

Source : CBC   5.19.13