Karzai's backing of strict Islamic code (that allows men to beat their
wives) 'is a giant step back for women's rights in Afghanistan'
Damien Gayle ("The Daily Mail," March 7, 2012)
Afgnaistan - Activists have accused the Afghan president of reversing
improvements in women's rights after he endorsed a strict 'code of conduct'
issued by clerics.
Hamid Karzai yesterday backed a document issued by the Ullema Council which
promotes segregation of the sexes and allows husbands to beat wives in
certain circumstances.
The move is seen as part of his attempts to reach out to the Taliban in the
lead up to the planned withdrawal of Nato troops from the Afghanistan in
2014.
But activists are furious that gains made in women's rights since the 2001
invasion and ensuing occupation are being used as a bargaining chip with
Islamic extremists.
Prior to the 2001 U.S. invasion, girls were banned from going to school and
women forced to wear burkas to conceal them from head to toe.
Women were also banned from venturing from their homes being escorted by a
male relative.
Similarly, the new 'code of conduct' says women should not travel without a
male companion and they should not mingle with men in places like schools,
markets or offices.
Wife-beating is only prohibited if there is no 'Shariah-compliant reason',
it said.
Mr Karzai insisted the document was in keeping with Islam and did not
restrict women.
'It is the Shariah law of all Muslims and all Afghans,' he added.
Women's activists say the Afghan president's endorsement of the code seems
to imply that laws aimed at protecting women's rights may be sacrificed for
peace negotiations.
Heather Barr, an Afghanistan researcher for New York-based Human Rights
Watch, said: 'It sends a really frightening message that women can expect to
get sold out in this process.'
Shukria Barikzai, a parliamentarian from the capital Kabul, who has been
active in women's issues, said she was worried that Mr Karzai and the
clerics' council appeared to be ignoring their country's own laws.
'When it comes to civil rights in Afghanistan, Karzai should respect the
constitution,' Ms Barikzai said. The Afghan constitution provides equal
rights for men and women.
The exception for certain types of beatings also appears to contradict
Afghan law that prohibits spousal abuse.
The guidelines also promote rules on divorce that give women few rights, a
U-turn from pledges by Mr Karzai to reform Afghan family law to make
divorces more equitable, Ms Barr said.
'This represents a significant change in his message on women's rights,'
she said.
Afghan women's rights activist Fatana Ishaq Gailani, founder of the
Afghanistan Women's Council, said she feels like women's rights are being used
as
part of a political game.
'We want the correct Islam, not the Islam of politics,' Ms Gailani said.
She said she supported negotiations with the Taliban, but that
Afghanistan's women should not be sacrificed for that end.
Hadi Marifat of the Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organisation,
which surveyed 5,000 Afghan women for a recent report on the state of women's
rights in Afghanistan, said the statements show Mr Karzai is shifting
toward the strictest interpretations of Shariah law.'In the post-Taliban
Afghanistan, the guiding principle of president Karzai regarding women's
rights
has been attracting funding from the international community on one hand,
balanced against the need to get the support of the Ullema Council and other
traditionalists on the other,' Ms Marifat said.
'The concerning thing is that now this balance is shifting toward the
conservative element, and that was obvious in his statement.'
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