Afghan women protesting against marital rape law are stoned

Afghan women protesting against marital rape law are stoned

rawstory.com

A group of Afghan women who braved an enraged mob yesterday to protest against an “abhorrent” new Afghan law had to be rescued by police from a hail of stones and abuse.

The protest by about 200 women, unprecedented in recent Afghanistan history, was directed at the Shia Family Law passed last month by the Afghan parliament which appears to legalise marital rape and child marriage.

The rally, staged by mostly young women with their faces exposed, was a highly inflammatory act of defiance in a country as conservative as Afghanistan. It provoked a furious reaction from local men and a rapidly expanding mob threatened to swamp the demonstrators as they tried to approach the Afghan parliament.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I am sincerly disturbed by this. So in those countries being a pedophile and rapist is ok? and if you don't agree you are being stoned to death?...That is just sick. SICK. What the hell is wrong with this world... I mean that is just wrong , very wrong ...i wish they would wake up already ..women are not objects .

rawstory.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I hate to draw comparisons based on my ignorance. But are women treated as objects comparable to 'Satan'? Correct me if I'm wrong: It is my understanding that during the pilgrimages to Mecca which people would pelt a pillar of stone (representing 'Satan') with 'stones'.

I feel the real CHANGE in Afghan is through and by women, who will teach their men to understand that without women, their birth mothers, these men are nothing! Showing their faces represents their awakening. Women no longer need to hide behind out-dated religious conservatism and show their 'maker' they are ready for real HOPE for themselves but for the future of their beautiful children.

[edit on 2009-4-16 by pikypiky]

Right on. Glad to see yet another successful US invasion.

And it is the occupying army responsible for this. They put these warlords in power, the ones making all of these wonderful laws legalizing rape and so on.

There's more repression, poppy sales, and violence in that country since the US invaded than there ever was under the Taliban.

Oh right but he "evil" Taliban had to go, they were harboring Bin Laden. (never mind there is 0 evidence tying him to 9/11 and nevermind the Taliban offered to give him up to authorities pre-invasion).

Shoot first. Legalize rape later. Its the American way.

I am proud of those women!

It takes a lot of guts to stand up for something in the face of a very serious risk to your own saftey.

The legislation restricts a woman's right to leave her home and demands she submit to her husband's sexual desires. Sima Ghani, one of the women's organisers, said: "This law is against Islam and it's against women. It's against the people of Afghanistan."

Most of those protesting against the law were young Shia women who took to the streets despite the threat of violence. Earlier this week, one of Afghanistan's leading women's rights activists was murdered at her home.

This is exactly the kind of thing that the Taliban imposed. When we invaded Afganistan whatever else I thought about the war, I was at least relieved that the women there would not endure the Taliban anymore.

Politicians on both sides claim President Karzai signed the law to win support from hardline Shia clerics, but he has since ordered a Supreme Court review following widespread international protests led by US President Barack Obama. Mr Obama called the law "abhorrent". Some Nato countries have threatened to withdraw troops unless the law is repealed.

The law regulates the personal affairs of the minority Shia community. It stipulates that a man can expect to have sex with his wife at least once every four nights, it negates the need for sexual consent within marriage, and it gives husbands the right to demand their wives wear make-up.

I am not a fan of Karzai who started well but quickly lost his nerve to stand up to the clerics. I hope that the international pressure will repeal this law, but the unfortunate reality is that things like this go on law or no law.

Sabrina Saqeb, an MP and one of the protest's organisers, said the demonstration was evidence of a groundswell of support for women's rights.

"Afghan women have raised their voices and they proved this isn't what the international community is imposing on Afghanistan, these are the demands of Afghan women," she said.

"People threw stone at us, some people were hit with sticks, and they called us bad names, but what can you expect? These people are the same as the Taliban. There's no difference."

All external quotes are from the full story in The Independent

reply to post by pikypiky

While I agree with you more than you can ever know, the culture in Afghanistan require change more radical than anything that has been accomplished in Iraq. And those people, while they were ready for change, have taken years.
The culture in Afghanistan changes slowly, if at all, but it will take a hundred hears or more, and we will be unable to hold that country for that long. And I fear we will be unable to teach the women what they need to know in the few years we will be able to remain there. This is culture ruled by men and a repressive religion. While it is not hopeless, it will take more time than any of us can resonably realize!

I remember very well the world wide outrage over women being oppressed under the Taliban's control in Afghanistan. This, I believe, helped spur the invasion of Afghanistan. And it looks like nothing has really changed. Well, poppy and opium production has increased.

I wonder if this all is to encourage an increase in U.S. presence in Afghanistan.

Note, from another news report I read, can't remember where, etc., but men were also involved in this protest. And women, seeing this march tried to join in and were held back by men. Also, the police surrounding the marchers were women who locked arms to keep others from assaulting the marchers. But, locked arms can't stop rocks.

Remember, too. Nobody was stoned to death at this demonstration. That will come later. Also, some women were also reported to have thrown stones at the particpants.

If I said what I really think, I would probably be hit with a point reduction.

What do you expect from a country that is being run by a Theocracy. Its not just Islam, all religions, when taken to the extreme are horrible and oppressive. (See: Inquisition, behavior of extreme orthodox Jews, etc...)

It just seems that in this day and age, Islam has the most radical leaders and followers per capita.

Its a shame too, I read the Kite Runner and believe that before the Soviets invaded, Afghanistan was probably not such a bad place, and it is the Soviet's fault for the radicalization of the population and the US's fault for training and equipping the Bin Ladens of the world.

Very sick. Why do people have to engage in such cruelty? Nobody likes this kind of crap.

Who would want to have sex with these ugly, evil, violent men, even if one did, I am sure it would hurt like rape, I am sure they are all really bad lovers.

They hate women, women have to realize that all wars are a direct attack to everything we stand for, life, home, love. I think we as women - All women of the world should join and put these punks in their places, stop all this male nonsense, destroying our work, our life, the earth!

reply to post by Fatality

yeah, and then they emigrate to another country and expect, or rather demand that the host country change its laws to accomodate their 'culture'.

And the UN says that if you disagree with any of their ways you are the problem and must be punished or 're educated'.