New Afghan Law Legalizes Marital Rape
Posted by Danger on April 3rd, 2009 filed in BLAME THE MEDIA, EFF U, Human Rights, Stupid, Unrelenting Failure, WTF?
KABUL (AP) - A new Afghan law makes it legal for men to rape their wives, human rights groups and some Afghan lawmakers said Thursday, accusing President Hamid Karzai of signing the legislation to bolster his re-election prospects.
Critics worry the legislation undermines hard-won rights for women enacted after the fall of the Taliban’s strict Islamist regime.
The law — which some lawmakers say was never debated in parliament — is intended to regulate family life inside Afghanistan’s Shiite community, which makes up about 20 percent of this country of 30 million people.
The law does not affect Afghan Sunnis.
One of the most controversial articles stipulates the wife “is bound to preen for her husband as and when he desires.”
“As long as the husband is not traveling, he has the right to have sexual intercourse with his wife every fourth night,” Article 132 of the law says.
“Unless the wife is ill or has any kind of illness that intercourse could aggravate, the wife is bound to give a positive response to the sexual desires of her husband.”
One provision also appears to protect the woman’s right to sex inside marriage saying the “man should not avoid having sexual relations with his wife longer than once every four months.”
The law’s critics say Karzai signed the legislation in the past month only for political gains several months before the country’s presidential election.
The United Nations Development Fund for Women, or UNIFEM, said the law “legalizes the rape of a wife by her husband.”
“The law violates women’s rights and human rights in numerous ways,” a UNIFEM statement said.
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:40 PM
just when i think the word could not possibly get any more demoralizing..
April 3rd, 2009 at 1:29 PM
Words cannot describe what I’m feeling right now.
This is just….so wrong…the UN needs to step in and stop this madness, women are NOT things, we are mothers, we bring life into this world and yet we’re still treated like objects.
April 3rd, 2009 at 3:39 PM
How sick has humanity become? This sick. Time to do something about it.
April 3rd, 2009 at 4:58 PM
i am stunned how retarded some countries are. Really lost all faith in humanity
April 3rd, 2009 at 5:24 PM
Once again, my male feminist blood begins to boil.
April 3rd, 2009 at 5:53 PM
This is bullshit!! How could someone be so heartless?
April 3rd, 2009 at 6:10 PM
I’m actually lost for breath. I can’t believe that anyone could think like this. I mean, more than a single person. A whole group of men, who think they have the… the RIGHT to just DO whatever the FUCK THEY WANT.
Whoever passed this law should get raped, see how they like it.
I don’t mean that though, it’s just the rage talking.
April 4th, 2009 at 4:14 AM
The law does not affect Afghan Sunnis?
Nonetheless thats what happen in any country ruled by extremist(Mostly men).
April 4th, 2009 at 4:41 AM
OK, for the time I was there, and I’m not saying I saw the whole country, but the bits I saw, the men seemed very respectful of their wives wishes. Some even brought up their wives ideas in council. All the men I knew were very avid about protecting their families and would never do something that they though would bring harm to them, by an outside source or themselves.
Now then having said that, I was also exposed to the extreme minority in Afghanistan. Nuristani’s have a very progressive and forward thought on how the country should be run.
Why I thought to bring this up is not to defend the Afghan government, what I am saying is that not all the people over there have the same ideologies as the central government. This thought of bigger women’s rights is spreading throughout the land, although slowly.
Also, the article stated that Pres. Karzai may have only enacted this law for political reasons, now then, is that such a stretch of the imagination that a politician would sign a law and push it through without any one seeing it (….patriot act….) and having it signed into law to boost their own political standing?
It was my job to meet people while I was there, and every single Allah-fearing one of them respected their wives and would never do something like this, for any reason.
April 4th, 2009 at 10:16 AM
Tommy just gave me a bit of hope. thx for that. nonetheless, a lot of will be forced to have sex.
very distubing thought: if this is an act that will leed to more votes from the people of Afganistan instead of less… isn’t that country then sort of lost for humanity?
April 4th, 2009 at 10:20 AM
I am a male feminist anti-sexist (i can’t stand sexism), so, it makes me so sad, first, and, “mad”.
April 4th, 2009 at 10:22 AM
ah, i’ve just read that they’ve put the law on hold. Italy threatened to whitdraw the thirty female soldiers they had… yeah, they’re showing their balls!!! (sarcasm) ps. my english grammer isn’t state of the art, sorry for that. I’ll learn..
April 6th, 2009 at 12:45 PM
wow this totally pisses me off. while the rest of the world maybe in a little way starts to go forward these parts go backwards. i cant believe this… not only do they have their religion which is so inforced but they keep on adding so much stupid shit laws like this…
April 14th, 2009 at 5:17 AM
people of the world have become greedy animals what do you expect
May 13th, 2009 at 7:44 AM
Wow. What the fuck? This is due to the selfishness of men. Men need to learn to control their sexual urges and to think of others. These people have lived for years.. not giving a shit about anyone else other than who they’re taught too.
“Poor, is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another” -Madonna