Afghan Women Rally Against Oppressive Law

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OneWorld reported earlier this month on a new law signed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that would severely limit rights for women members of the Shia population in the country. Writing before the law was even published, the Feminist Majority Foundation said the new law was believed to restrict women from leaving their homes, working, going to school, or obtaining medical care without their husbands' permission. It also would grant child custody only to men and prohibit women from refusing their husbands sex.

Many believed Karzai agreed to the law in order to win votes from a conservative swing voting bloc in upcoming elections. Shia make up about 10 percent of the country's population.

Now Human Rights Watch is urging Karzai to take heed as women take to the streets tomorrow. The group has called on Karzai to repeal or reform the law. Karzai's handling of the law has raised serious concerns about his priorities ahead of potential talks with the Taliban.

Here's what Human Rights Watch just sent us [excerpts]:

The government of Afghanistan should listen to the Afghan women who are planning to hold a protest on April 15, 2009, at great personal risk, and repeal or reform the Shia Personal Status law, Human Rights Watch said today....

"President Karzai should not sacrifice women for short-term political deal-making," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "He is playing with fire. How will he be able to refuse demands for similar discriminatory laws from other communities?"

Women in parliament complained that the law was rushed through with the help of several prominent Shia leaders. Despite calls from women's rights advocates not to sign the law, President Hamid Karzai signed it in an apparent attempt to garner political support from powerful political factions in Afghanistan.

The provisions of the Shia Personal Status Law directly contradict the Afghan constitution, which bans any kind of discrimination and distinction between citizens of Afghanistan. Article 22 states that men and women "have equal rights and duties before the law." The law also contravenes the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, to which Afghanistan is a state party.

"All that Afghan women want is to be free, this is what we are demonstrating for," one Afghan activist helping to organize the protest told Human Rights Watch. "This law is ridiculous, women cannot believe it is real. It tries to take away our freedoms, so we have to speak out against it."

While Karzai has asked the Ministry of Justice to review the law, Human Rights Watch is concerned that the review will not be independent because those leading the process in the Ministry of Justice are from a conservative Shia background. Human Rights Watch welcomed the strong concerns about the law expressed by many other governments, including the US, the UK, France, Italy, and Canada, as well as NATO, but said that they need to keep the pressure on to make the necessary changes in the law and ensure the rights of women more generally....

Many activists who have spoken out against the law have received threats. The fears of women activists have been compounded by the killing this week of a prominent women's rights campaigner and local councillor, Sitara Achakzai, who was shot dead in Kandahar after receiving death threats.

Civil society activists have told Human Rights Watch that the government's handling of the Shia law leaves them even more concerned about plans by the Karzai government to enter into talks with the Taliban.

"Any deals with the Taliban and other fundamentalist groups should not be at the expense of women's rights," said Adams. "What small gains that have been won by women in Afghanistan must not be up for negotiation."

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Jeffrey Allen is managing editor for OneWorld.net in the United States. OneWorld.net publishes news and information about global affairs from the perspectives of people living the issues everyday, drawing on content produced largely by non-profit organizations working with affected populations around the world.