Rape to Become Law in Afghanistan?

As if women in Afghanistan haven't suffered enough from years of war and Taliban leadership, a new scourge has just hit Shia women — a law that forces Shia women to be sexually available, always, to their husbands.

The law applies to women of Afghanistan's Shia minority, who make up roughly 15 percent of the population. A separate family law will be drafted for Afghanistan's Sunni majority.

However, this law is not Shia law, culturally, or legally. It is a law of Afghanistan, written for the Shia population. Its an important distinction, because, all too often, people interpret restrictive decisions like these as cultural norms — and this just isn't the case.

The proposed law, which states that the wife "is bound to preen for her husband as and when he desires," essentially makes Shia women sexual chattel. It goes further, saying, "As long as the husband is not traveling, he has the right to have sexual intercourse with his wife every fourth night. Unless the wife is ill or has any kind of illness that intercourse could aggravate, the wife is bound to give a positive response to the sexual desires of her husband."

Thankfully, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has come under intense scrutiny for signing this legislation last month. Bowing to intense pressure from most of the world, Karzai has agreed to send the law to the Ministry of Justice for review. However, he also defended the law, saying it had been "misinterpreted" by the west.

If you find this deplorable, there are things you can do. You can write a letter to U.S. leadership, letting them know you want them to put pressure on the Afghan government to strike this law from the books. You can write a letter to your local paper, letting them and others know that this is happening. You can also support UUSC's Civil Liberties Program, which partners with groups in Afghanistan that educate women and bolster their rights. But don't let the women of Afghanistan come under even crueler and more restrictive laws than they have already been forced to deal with.