(NSI News Source Info) STRASBOURG, France - April 5, 2009: U.S. President Barack Obama piled pressure on Afghan leader Hamid Karzai on Saturday to scrap an "abhorrent" law which critics say would legalise marital rape. 
Afghan women pray for justice and security of the country during a gathering to mark the International Women's Day in Kabul, Afghanistan. Human rights groups and some lawmakers criticized Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday, April 2, 2009 for signing into law legislation that some believe legalizes the rape of a wife by her husband and prevents women from leaving the house without a man's permission.
Other leaders meeting at a NATO summit joined in the chorus of disapproval, warning that support for the military alliance's Afghan mission would suffer if the Shi'ite Personal Status Law was not dropped.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown personally phoned Karzai to complain and Western officials said the Afghan leader had ordered a review of the draft law, which would apply to the country's Shi'ite minority.
"I think this rule is abhorrent ... We have stated very clearly that we object to this law," Obama told a news conference after a NATO summit.
"It is very important for us to be sensitive to local culture but we also think there are certain basic principles that all nations should uphold ... (including) respect for women and respect for their freedom and integrity."
The former Taliban regime, overthrown by U.S.-led forces in 2001, discriminated strongly against women and girls, and NATO leaders have justified their continued presence in Afghanistan partly by saying they were defending human rights.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said if Afghanistan compromised the pursuit of fundamental human values "there will be clear diminishment in Allied support for this venture."
Shi'ite Muslims account for some 15 percent of mainly Sunni Muslim Afghanistan. Karzai is facing an election in August and Shi'ite support could be crucial to his chances.
Afghan women pray for justice and security of the country during a gathering to mark the International Women's Day in Kabul, Afghanistan. Human rights groups and some lawmakers criticized Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday, April 2, 2009 for signing into law legislation that some believe legalizes the rape of a wife by her husband and prevents women from leaving the house without a man's permission.
Other leaders meeting at a NATO summit joined in the chorus of disapproval, warning that support for the military alliance's Afghan mission would suffer if the Shi'ite Personal Status Law was not dropped.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown personally phoned Karzai to complain and Western officials said the Afghan leader had ordered a review of the draft law, which would apply to the country's Shi'ite minority.
"I think this rule is abhorrent ... We have stated very clearly that we object to this law," Obama told a news conference after a NATO summit.
"It is very important for us to be sensitive to local culture but we also think there are certain basic principles that all nations should uphold ... (including) respect for women and respect for their freedom and integrity."
The former Taliban regime, overthrown by U.S.-led forces in 2001, discriminated strongly against women and girls, and NATO leaders have justified their continued presence in Afghanistan partly by saying they were defending human rights.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said if Afghanistan compromised the pursuit of fundamental human values "there will be clear diminishment in Allied support for this venture."
Shi'ite Muslims account for some 15 percent of mainly Sunni Muslim Afghanistan. Karzai is facing an election in August and Shi'ite support could be crucial to his chances.KARZAI SEES MISINTERPRETATION
Karzai said on Saturday the West's criticisms were based on a wrong translation or misinterpretation of the law, which has not yet come into force.
His comments did not satisfy Canada, whose troops have paid a heavy price fighting in the south of Afghanistan where the Taliban insurgents are at their strongest.
"I'm not sure the Alliance is prepared to accept simply soothing reassurances," said Harper.
He acknowledged a contradiction between the West insisting Afghanistan w
as a sovereign country that could not be told what to do and then telling Kabul to scrap the law.
"Clearly the Afghan government is a sovereign government. That said, (it) understands the involvement of international forces in their country ... is based on our adherence to certain principles," he said.
Brown told reporters he had called Karzai and "demanded assurances" that the law would not infringe women's rights. (Recently approved version of law also mandates that a woman ask a male relative to leave the house.)
"He (Karzai) has promised there will be a statement made by his Justice Department tomorrow and he has promised that, if necessary, this will return to the Afghan parliament rather than being enacted in practice," Brown said.
as a sovereign country that could not be told what to do and then telling Kabul to scrap the law.
"Clearly the Afghan government is a sovereign government. That said, (it) understands the involvement of international forces in their country ... is based on our adherence to certain principles," he said.
Brown told reporters he had called Karzai and "demanded assurances" that the law would not infringe women's rights. (Recently approved version of law also mandates that a woman ask a male relative to leave the house.)
"He (Karzai) has promised there will be a statement made by his Justice Department tomorrow and he has promised that, if necessary, this will return to the Afghan parliament rather than being enacted in practice," Brown said.
No comments:
Post a Comment