Mali protest against women's law

[Heidi]

Source: BBC

Page last updated at 00:09 GMT, Sunday, 23 August 2009 01:09 UK

Tens of thousands of people in Mali's capital, Bamako, have been protesting against a new law which gives women equal rights in marriage.

The law, passed earlier this month, also strengthens inheritance rights for women and children born out of wedlock.

The head of a Muslim women's association says only a minority of Malian women - "the intellectuals" as she put it - supports the law.

Several other protests have taken place in other parts of the country.

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One of the most contentious issues in the new legislation is that women are no longer required to obey their husbands.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8216568.stm