• by Emma Bonino
• Tuesday, June 30, 2009
• Inter Press Service

The new Shi'ite Personal Status Law recently passed in Afghanistan legalises rape within marriage and officially relegates women to second class citizens; it is a barefaced denial of human rights that needs to be condemned loudly, unequivocally and universally, writes Emma Bonino, vice-president of the Italian Senate.

In this analysis, Bonino argues that the new legislation is both a direct violation of international law and a contravention of a host of articles in the Afghan Constitution. It legitimises restrictions on everything women do, including where they go and whom they visit; it legalises their subjugation to the whims of others; it denies them a say in decisions about their children and access to education and health care.

Though Afghan president Hamid Karzai declared his intention to have the law reviewed following resounding condemnation within and outside Afghanistan, now is not the time for complacency. We should maintain our outrage: sign the international appeal, voice your opinion to your elected officials and to the Afghan authorities, take innovative, nonviolent action. The women of Afghanistan deserve no less than our total, unflinching support.

(*) Emma Bonino is vice-president of the Italian Senate. The international appeal is available on http://www.npwj.org

//NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN CANADA, NEW ZEALAND, CZECH REPUBLIC, IRELAND, POLAND, THE UNITED STATES, AND THE UNITED KINGDOM//

© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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