Afghanistan's contentious family law quietly enacted

From cbc.ca/news:

Women's rights activists alleged Monday that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has used a constitutional loophole to enact a law that allows minority Shiite Muslim husbands to refuse food and money to their wives if they deny them sex.

Considering Canada's current involvement in Afghanistan this should be of extreme importance to our Government, and it would be a shame and an embarrassment if left un-challenged.

Read the full article here.

RELATED: Video from bbc.co.uk (no embed available) "Afghan women fight for rights"

8 out of 10 women suffer domestic violence, 60% forced into marriage AS CHILDREN. And all this after the intervention of the Western Coalition.

War on women

This week's NOW Toronto includes and article with an eye catching headline "War on women" which lead me to believe that it was about the recently passed law in Afghanistan that forbids women from refusing to have sex with their husbands (which I blogged about here, from a story by the CBC).

But unless I was day dreaming while reading the bulk of it (which this late in the afternoon, even after a coffee infusion, is quite possible) it only touched on the issue briefly; in the opening paragraphs and in this one quote from Steven Staples of the Rideau Institute:

Anybody who thinks that by pouring in more troops we can defend these women against Neanderthals is not to be taken seriously.

Which is an excellent point and needs expanding on. Which unfortunately the article doesn't do. What actions can we take to defend these women then?

The bulk of the article seems to be focused on what the Americans are up to and how the Canadian government doesn't want to talk about al Qaeda. And NATO is weak. And we should probably just pull our troops out.

How does any of this address the War on Women?

Afghan women pelted by stones

From the CBC:

Afghan women protesting against a new law that severely undermines women's rights were pelted with stones in the country's capital Wednesday, say reports.

About 300 mostly young women gathered in Kabul to show their opposition to a recently passed law that forbids women from refusing to have sex with their husbands and requires them to get a male relative's permission to leave the house.

Full story here: Afghan women pelted by stones during rape law protest

So what exactly is Canada doing in Afghanistan? According to a government website:

maintain(ing) a more secure environment and establish(ing) law and order by building the capacity of the Afghan National Army and Police, and supporting complementary efforts in the areas of justice and corrections.

Right. FAIL.