Afghanistan: Angry protests against anti-women law

About 300 women protested against a new anti-women marriage law on April 15. The law denies women basic rights and legalises rape. The women were surrounded by 1000-strong mob who pelted them with stones, Associated Press said that day.

AP said the law, passed last month by the parliament installed by the US-led occupation forces, grants a husband the legal right to demand sex with his wife every four days unless she is ill or would be harmed by intercourse. It also regulates when and for what reasons a wife may leave her home alone.

While the law only applies to the Shiite Muslim community, protesters said it did not reflect the views of the Shiite community. Instead, the law is reminiscent of the extreme Sunni fundamentalist Taliban regime, overthrown by the US-led invasion, which implemented extreme oppression of women, including banning them from leaving their home without their husband's permission.

From GLW issue 791