04-05-2009, 07:15 PM
|
#7 (permalink)
|
|
Her Jay
Location: Ontario for now....
|
Seems the Afghan government has had a change of heart.
edmontonsun.com - Canada - Cannon tells CBC Afghanistan has sidelined Shia 'rape law'
Quote:
Cannon tells CBC Afghanistan has sidelined Shia 'rape law'
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon has told the CBC that Afghanistan is pulling back from a controversial law on women’s rights.
The network says Cannon met the Afghan foreign minister and was told that the process of putting the law into effect has been halted.
“He actually assured me that the process has been halted pursuant to a cabinet discussion yesterday of which he was part as well as, of course, president (Hamid) Karzai,” Cannon said.
“A decision was made to halt this legislation and, at the same time, send this package back to the minister of justice so that the minister of justice can put together a package that will abide, of course, by the constitution of Afghanistan and, at the same time, respect the rights of individuals, of course, the rights of women.”
The law, which applied only to the minority Shia community, would have forbidden women from refusing to have sex with their husbands and from leaving the home without permission.
Word of the legislation sparked outrage in Canada, where it was seen as a licence for marital rape.
Foreign Affairs said Canadian diplomats warned the Afghan government that the law was very troubling.
“Canada has made its position clear,” a Foreign Affairs spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail to The Canadian Press. “We call on the Afghan government, in the strongest of terms, to honour its human rights treaty obligations under international law, including respect for the equality of women before the law.
“Promoting and protecting human rights for all Afghans is a core element of Canada’s engagement in Afghanistan.”
|
__________________
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
|
|
|