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Afghanistan president orders review of controversial law restricting women's rights

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Saturday that he has ordered the review of a law which severely limits the rights of married Shi'ite women in the country. The Shi'ite Personal Status Law was enacted last month and has not yet been published, but opponents say the law requires a woman to seek her husband's permission before leaving the house, and effectively condones rape within a marriage. Karzai said the bill has been misunderstood by Western media, but that he has ordered the country's Ministry of Justice to review the law. Karzai that the law would be returned to the Afghan parliament if changes need to be made. Among those calling for changes to the law were UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, US President Barack Obama, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. The Afghanistan constitution requires equal rights for both both men and women, but allows for the country's Shia population to observe some of its own religious laws. Signing the law was one of several actions that Karzai has been criticized for since his appointment as Afghanistan's interim president in 2002. In early March, the UN reported that the human rights situation in Afghanistan is worsening, one week after a similar US report rebuked Afghanistan for, among other problems, continued use of child labor. In November, the UN urged Afghanistan to discontinue use of the death penalty, which Karzai had reinstated following a four-year moratorium. In April 2008, the Taliban attempted to assassinate Karzai during a military parade, the third attempt on his life since 2001.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on April 05, 2009 (boomark / email).