Afghanistan Won’t Legalize Forced Marital Sex, Ambassador Says

[Coventina]

Source: Bloomberg

April 11 (Bloomberg) -- The Afghan government won’t allow any law that would force women to have sex with their husbands or prevent them from leaving their homes, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Washington said yesterday.

“Definitely not,” Ambassador Said Jawad said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt” airing this weekend. “This is not the law yet, and it will not become the law, because it contradicts some important principles of the Afghan constitution.”

The legislation that would govern the country’s Shia minority drew condemnation a week ago from President Barack Obama, who called it “abhorrent,” as well as from European leaders and United Nations officials. Leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said it would be hard to justify international contributions to Afghanistan if the country fails to uphold universal values and women’s rights. Jawad is the first Afghan official to say unequivocally it won’t become law.

Jawad praised Obama’s message of outreach to the Muslim world during his recent trip to Turkey, Iraq and Europe as having a “tremendous effect.” His speech and visit to the Hagia Sophia mosque in Turkey sent “very, very clear signals that the United States is with the moderate forces of Islam and Muslims who are suffering, who are the prime victims of terrorism and extremism in their own country.”



Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aU2fFXCtuvVw&refer=home

[biopowertoday]

1. Its a joke as the tribal leaders will control what they want to do.

[Mari333]

2. lotta bluster to keep those usa $$$$ rolling in nt

[zazen]

3. and because husbands control what _they_ want to do

Can you imagine an Afghani woman successfully winning a case against her husband for marital rape? It's hard enough in this country.

[Baby Snooks]

5. No, no, no...

Marital rape is not a problem in this country. It's not a problem, that is, in the sense that it is rarely prosecuted. Unless the husband gets a little rough. Then, well, maybe. Depends on how "fundamentalist" the district attorney is. Which of course will be the problem in Afghanistan.

[Umbram]

6. DA's have to deal with pesky little things like

"evidence" and "beyond a reasonable doubt."

A good deal of the evidence critical to a conviction in a non-marital rape case is useless in a marital rape case. I think it's more than a tad unfair to sum failure to prosecute to "fundamentalist" DA's.

[ensho]

4. its a start, we have to keep the sun shining on Afghani men

we have to keep on trying to get justice and equality for the women

[tomm2thumbs]

7. (wink wink, nod nod)

[iandhr]

8. Thank you Gordon Brown

[CHIMO]

9. Top Afghan cleric defends 'rape law'

KABUL–A key backer of an Afghan law that critics say legalizes marital rape and rolls back women's rights rejected an international outcry as foreign meddling Saturday and insisted the legislation offers women many protections.

Mohammad Asif Mohseni, a top Afghan cleric who was one of the law's main drafters, said the legislation cannot be revoked or changed because it was enacted through a legislative process – passed by both houses of parliament and signed by Karzai. He condemned the outcry, saying western countries were trying to thwart democracy when results did not please them.

"The westerners claim that they have brought democracy to Afghanistan. What does democracy mean? It means government by the people for the people. They should let the people use these democratic rights," Mohseni told reporters in the capital, Kabul.

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/617053

[dustbunnie]

10. As if any woman in her right mind would say "no" to begin with.

What's better, being beaten quietly in the comfort of your own home, or flogged in public while a bunch of men laugh and mock. Hmmmm...

[CHIMO]

11. Guess

The US is getting a load of shit from their connections.

[dustbunnie]

12. Well, not sure what you mean, but if this "law" is the end all, be all, of women's rights -

it's hilarious. I doubt any woman would invoke her right to not have sex in that part of the world. Bwahaaa. She'd be beaten senseless.

I'm sure tribal leaders are laughing at the distraction they're creating.

[CHIMO]

13. Agree With You

But look at what is happening.

NOAM CHOMSKY: Well, interesting ways. When President Obama was elected, Afghan President Karzai sent him a message, which, as far as I know, was unanswered, in which he pleaded with President Obama to stop killing Afghans. He also addressed a UN delegation and told them he wanted a timetable for the removal of foreign forces. Well, his popularity quickly plummeted. He used to be very much praised for his nice clothes and great demeanor and very much admired by the media and commentators. Now he’s sunk very low. He’s suddenly corrupt and so on.

NOAM CHOMSKY: In the Western world, primarily in the United States, but in the West altogether. And it directly followed these expressions of opinion, which are very likely those of maybe a majority of Afghans, maybe even more.

In fact, he went even further. He said that he would invite Mullah Omar, the head of the Taliban, to Afghanistan to try to work out a solution. And he added, “The United States isn’t going to like this, but they have two choices: they can either accept it, or they can throw me out,” you know. In fact, that’s what they’re doing. There are now plans to replace President Karzai, to sort of push him upstairs and leave him in a—it’s assumed that he’ll win the next election, so put him in a symbolic position and impose, basically, a US-appointed surrogate who will essentially run the country, because that can’t be tolerated.
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/4/3/noam
http://play.rbn.com/?url=demnow/demnow/demand/2009/april/video/dnB20090403a.rm&proto=rtsp&start=00:21:52

[sofa king]

14. Mar-i-tal.

Not "martial," as I misread it. For a second there, I thought I'd been tipped off to an entire genre of pornography I had yet to see.

But no, turns out I've still seen it all.