About That Afghan Law…
EmailGlobe-trotting ABC News correspondent Nick Schifrin writes to tell us more about that woman-oppressing Afghan law President Karzai signed two weeks ago, which the Afghan justice ministry said today it is reviewing.
Karzai’s spokesman says until the ministry approves the law, which was quietly signed late last month, it will not be enforced.
Here are the relevant portions of the the law as translated by a Western embassay in Kabul.
Article 132
(3) The couple should not commit acts that create hatred and bitterness in their relationship, The wife is bound to preen for her husband, as and when he desires.
(4) The husband, except when traveling or ill, is bound to have intercourse with his wife every night in four nights. The wife is bound to give a positive response to the sexual desires of her husband.
(7) The wife is bound to perform household works only if it was put down as a condition in the marriage document, otherwise, wife is not bound to performing household chores.
Article 133
(1) Husband is responsible for the family maintenance (financially), unless this right is given to the wife due to husband’s mental disorder or a decision of the court.
(2) If the wife was a working woman before marriage, and the marriage document does not condition her to stop working, the husband cannot stop her from work, unless her work affects the interest of the family or the position of either wife or husband in a negative way.
(3) Husband can stop the wife from any unnecessary, unIslamic act.
(4) Wife cannot leave the house without the permission of the husband, unless due to any serious pressure or difficulty and to address that.
Article 177
(1) The husband is bound to provide maintenance to his wife.
(2) The wife does not have the right to the provision of maintenance by the husband unless she agrees to have intercourse with him and he gets an opportunity for doing so.
(4) Obedience, readiness for intercourse and not leaving the house without the permission of the husband are the duties of the wife, violation of every one of them will mean disobedience to the husband.
President Obama, as you may recall, called the law abhorrent but suggested it wouldn’t change the mission in Afghanistan.
– jpt
Sen. DeMint: GOP Race Could Go Until Convention 
Obama Avoids Questions on Contraception Rule
Give me a break! bunch of sick freaks!
Posted by: cissy55 | April 7, 2009, 4:11 pm 4:11 pm
You cannot be serious!!! And we think that we are going to change these people in any way whatsoever? They must be from another planet. No one can live like that. Let’s just kill the Taliban, get Bin Laden and GTH out of there. If the women won’t defend themselves against these maniac “husbands’ of theirs, they deserve what they get. My spouse would be dead in a heartbeat if he tried to pull any of this crap on me.
Posted by: geecee | April 7, 2009, 4:16 pm 4:16 pm
We should think about instituted some of these provisions here in the good ol’ USA!
Posted by: silky | April 7, 2009, 4:23 pm 4:23 pm
Heck, this sounds like rules some abusive American men follow. You know the ones, they think they own their women.
Posted by: democratic | April 7, 2009, 4:26 pm 4:26 pm
“Let’s just kill the Taliban, get Bin Laden and GTH out of there.”
That is surely the plan.
“If the women won’t defend themselves against these maniac “husbands’ of theirs, they deserve what they get.”
That’s absurd. They don’t have quite the cushy social structure we do here in the states.
“My spouse would be dead in a heartbeat if he tried to pull any of this crap on me.”
Posted by: silky | April 7, 2009, 4:27 pm 4:27 pm
Spare us your indignation, people! Some of these laws look pretty darn good to me. and surprise, surprise, we can learn a thing or two from them.
“If the wife was a working woman before marriage, and the marriage document does not condition her to stop working, the husband cannot stop her from work, unless her work affects the interest of the family or the position of either wife or husband in a negative way.”
“(7) The wife is bound to perform household works only if it was put down as a condition in the marriage document, otherwise, wife is not bound to performing household chores.”
How reasonable!
Posted by: Question | April 7, 2009, 4:30 pm 4:30 pm
Yeesh…we overthrew the Taliban so they could have crap laws like that?
Posted by: Eric | April 7, 2009, 4:37 pm 4:37 pm
silky:”"Let’s just kill the Taliban, get Bin Laden and GTH out of there.”
That is surely the plan.”
Yup, it’s pretty much the stated plan. The Obama administration has dropped the ‘bring freedom and democracy’ pledge and is not strictly focussing on eliminating the Taliban and bringing ‘stability’ – not as satisfying a goal, but actually attainable.
Posted by: jhw539 | April 7, 2009, 4:40 pm 4:40 pm
“If the women won’t defend themselves against these maniac “husbands’ of theirs, they deserve what they get.” GeeCee
I once lived next door to a woman IN THIS COUNTRY whose husband would periodically “take her for a drive in the country” and beat the hell out of her. (How nice of him not to upset the household). After he passed away, I asked her why she put up with it all those years. She told me if she had left him, no matter where she went, he would have found and killed her and her children. She did what she had to do to protect her children. It’s so easy to condemn women for putting up with abuse. Until you’ve lived through it, you have no idea what you’re talking about. Neither your friends nor your family nor the police can protect you from a man who is determined to kill you.
Posted by: Another Sarah | April 7, 2009, 4:41 pm 4:41 pm
Oops, that should have been: ” and IS strictly focusing on eliminating the Taliban and bringing ‘stability’ -”
Posted by: jhw539 | April 7, 2009, 4:43 pm 4:43 pm
This is beyond terrible! Those of us with some sense and decency would not want to be treated in any manner like this at all- we would not want our spouses, mothers, sisters, or daughters to be treated in this manner. It is a step back for the Afgan people, especially women. Marriage is about mutual respect, not being a servant for sex or anything else. This is just a control method by the hard liners in that country and Karzai is a politician just trying to get re elected. These women have no recourse whatsoever- all countries must stand up to this treatment of women as wrong- whether its in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Iraq , or Afganistan it is wrong and should not be tolerated by any goverment or any politician.
Posted by: Angela | April 7, 2009, 4:44 pm 4:44 pm
And Soetoro says “Naughty, naughty”!
Posted by: dl | April 7, 2009, 4:44 pm 4:44 pm
Everyone should watch the movie ‘Osama’.
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | April 7, 2009, 5:07 pm 5:07 pm
WOW now these men in Afghanistan know what they want and do not bow down to scum like Obama
Posted by: cis | April 7, 2009, 5:24 pm 5:24 pm
Any more laws like this in Islam. These laws are wonderful. Now if they would just arrest Obama for allowing abortions. I am all for these kind of laws. What is so bad about these laws. They are like facist. And they would arrest Obama if they could get their hands on him. So don’t believe the MEDIA that they love Obama
Posted by: j henry | April 7, 2009, 5:27 pm 5:27 pm
We have been fighting the wrong people. We should of been waging war against liberals. The Islamic would of joined in on that. Islamic people hate Liberals
Posted by: tango | April 7, 2009, 5:30 pm 5:30 pm
Is this protest aganist the afghan law really pushed by the desire to promote Women’s rights or is a political ploy to malign President Karzai?
Why is there no mention of the fact that some provisions of this law are already in force for the sunni women in Afghanistan?
Posted by: thetrajectory | April 7, 2009, 5:30 pm 5:30 pm
just let’s move out of Afghanistan period. defend our borders and airspace and patrol and destroy by air or effective air-drone planes. we do not need to be supporting a government that basically has the same morals as the Taliban. if we truly are conserned about human freedom we need to move out or those laws need to change.
Posted by: Paul Wall | April 7, 2009, 6:08 pm 6:08 pm
Is the US sending soldiers over to die for this?
Shame, shame, shame.
Obama it is your war, shame on you.
Posted by: Sally J | April 7, 2009, 6:11 pm 6:11 pm
I never understood why Soetoro thought this was the war we should be fighting.
Posted by: dl | April 7, 2009, 6:17 pm 6:17 pm
For a man not too shy to jump into Turkeys desire to be part of the EU he seems a bit timid on this issue. He should have replied “no way Karzai” will we defend your butt with conditions like these on your own people.
Trivia? How many US Presidents visit France and not visit Normandy?
Posted by: david | April 7, 2009, 6:37 pm 6:37 pm
Well that sucks – now even Democrats can end up looking like hypocrites. And they try REALLY hard not to stand for much of anything. Bummer for Obama.
Posted by: new cronkite | April 7, 2009, 7:31 pm 7:31 pm
This law is just outrageous!! This country has culturally accepted treating women as animals. United States will not change these feelings.
Posted by: Sharon | April 7, 2009, 8:00 pm 8:00 pm
I would parachute a team of the Ladies Professional Wrestling Association backed up by our troops to take out Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda.
The wrestlers can do want Bush and Cheney never did crush Osama!
Posted by: Anastasia | April 8, 2009, 1:53 am 1:53 am
We try to believe that females there can go to school and become employed.. Americans love to keep their head in the sand. These women are being abused beyond anything we ostriches can even imagine.
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | April 8, 2009, 7:52 am 7:52 am
As long as OBAMA shows “RESPECT” for
moslems we are safe?
Like they will behave.
Give me a break, these are the new barbarians who will rape our world if we let them!
We need to kick there asses!
Kabul should have been nuked after 911!
They richly deserve it!
You are all to soft to beat these barbarians.
They will eat you while you spout peace, love and happiness.
Fools!
Posted by: EE | April 8, 2009, 9:36 am 9:36 am
“We try to believe that females there can go to school and become employed.. Americans love to keep their head in the sand. These women are being abused beyond anything we ostriches can even imagine.”
Anybody who pays any attention has known all along about the treatment of women in that part of the world. What’s almost as startling is who it appears so many on this website didn’t know. Ostriches is right.
Posted by: silky | April 8, 2009, 9:47 am 9:47 am
silky—”There is nothing new about the attitudes towards women in this part of the world.”
i agree with you completely.
Posted by: Paul Wall | April 8, 2009, 11:41 am 11:41 am
its crazy how some country have not look pass as women being equal to men. The world seems to make effort but in reality things sometimes never change rather its a women being put on the level as a men or its a war between race. deep in the heart of society the world will never be fair.
Posted by: Veronica | April 8, 2009, 2:57 pm 2:57 pm
Why do Americans express so much cultural indignation when they know nothing of the world outside their own borders? We should not be so judgemental since what will work for our people may never work for theirs. What would they think about our system of moral relativism, Gay Marriages and porn infested internets? How would they view our obsession with individualism and liberty? Bush’s major mistake was to assume that other cultures would take up our values and welcome our “enlightened” methods when we freed them from dictators. But it was those dictators and their ultra hard line/ fundamentalist ways that made their society function.
Posted by: T961585 | April 9, 2009, 3:32 am 3:32 am