Afghanistan Changing 'Legalized Rape' Law

(NEWSER) - Pressure from British and German leaders over legalized rape in Afghanistan has pushed President Hamid Karzai to order a review of a law governing Shiites, Reuters reports. Karzai said the Justice Ministry would scrutinize the Shiite Personal Status Law and send it back to parliament if necessary. But he said Western officials had misunderstood the law, which has been approved but not enacted. More»

Wives can't refuse sex in Karzai nod to right

(NEWSER) - Critics are blasting a new law in Afghanistan that forbids a woman to refuse sex with her husband or to leave home without his permission, reports the Guardian. The law, opposed by the UN, is viewed as a major step backward for women in a nation whose constitution supports equal rights. Observers believe Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed the law to curry conservative support to win reelection. An Afghan senator called the changes "worse than during the Taliban." More»

Karzai government not making progress, rights groups says

(NEWSER) - More than a decade after the Taliban regime was ousted, Afghanistan is still imprisoning hundreds of women for "moral crimes" like running away from their husbands, according to Human Rights Watch. The group interviewed scores of women in Afghan prisons, and found that many were there because they had attempted to flee abusive relationships or forced marriages, AP reports. Adultery is a crime in Afghanistan, and the women were often assumed to have cheated on their husbands. More»

TIME talks to woman mutilated by militants

(NEWSER) - It appears increasingly likely that the US exit strategy from Afghanistan will involve some form of reconciliation with the Taliban. But that’s a terrifying thing for many Afghan women, Time reports this week, plastering on its cover the grisly image of an 18-year-old woman who had her nose and ears cut off by her husband on the orders of a Taliban judge. Her crime? Running away from an abusive husband. More»

Karzai promises to amend controversial 'marital rape' law

(NEWSER) - Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has confirmed for the first time that he will run for re-election in the country's elections this summer, the Times of London reports. Karzai repeated his pledge to amend a controversial law critics say condones marital rape and child marriage, surprising observers who believed he would keep it on the books to appease the country's conservative clerics. More»