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Afghanistan to suspend controversial limits on women's rights pending review

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

[JURIST] Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Monday that a law which severely limits the rights of married Shi'ite women in Afghanistan would not be enforced until the country's Ministry of Justice has complete reviewing the law. A spokesperson for Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the law had been placed on hold and submitted for review. Karzai ordered the review of the Shi'ite Personal Status Law Saturday in the wake of international criticism for provisions, which opponents say require a woman to seek her husband's permission before leaving the house and effectively condone rape  within a marriage. The law was enacted last month and Karzai has said that it has been misunderstood by Western media, but that the law would be returned to the Afghan parliament if changes need to be made. 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 06, 2009 (boomark / email).