New Afghanistan law to silence victims of violence against women

[SorellaLaBefana]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by NancyBlueINOklahoma (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Manchester Guardian

A new Afghan law will allow men to attack their wives, children and sisters without fear of judicial punishment, undoing years of slow progress in tackling violence in a country blighted by so-called "honour" killings, forced marriage and vicious domestic abuse.

The small but significant change to Afghanistan's criminal prosecution code bans relatives of an accused person from testifying against them. Most violence against women in Afghanistan is within the family, so the law – passed by parliament but awaiting the signature of the president, Hamid Karzai – will effectively silence victims as well as most potential witnesses to their suffering.

"It is a travesty this is happening," said Manizha Naderi, director of the charity and campaign group Women for Afghan Women. "It will make it impossible to prosecute cases of violence against women … The most vulnerable people won't get justice now."

<snip>

"Honour" killings by fathers and brothers who disapprove of a woman's behaviour would be almost impossible to punish. Forced marriage and the sale or trading of daughters to end feuds or settle debt would also be largely beyond the control of the law in a country where the prosecution of abuse is already rare.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/04/afghanistan-law-victims-violence-women

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Some mornings, I wonder what century I have awoken in.

I fear that this will only give additional encouragement to the right-wing forces within our own country which seek to destroy the human rights of women.

שלום

[niyad]

1. how many billions have we spent over there--and women are apparently no better off than before.

this is beyond disgusting, but not surprising.

no, there is no war on women, no rape culture.

[Gormy Cuss]

3. I'm so glad that we saved them from the Taliban!

[niyad]

4. indeed. I am certain they are so very grateful!

[leftynyc]

2. How do they live with themselves

How do the men look their wives, mothers, sisters and daughters in the eye and tell them this is best for them? How twisted do you have to be to believe this?

[niyad]

6. take a look at the same mentality in this country-- the "legitimate rape" bs, the whole misogynistic

woman-hating vitriol spilled in this country by the reichwingnutjobs. the hundreds of laws passed to prevent women from exercising reproductive autonomy, the "wives shall be submissive to their husbands" crap from the southern baptist convention, and echoed by huckabee recently, and the list goes on and on.

they live with themselves because the patriarchal, woman-hating world view to which they subscribe tells them that women are lesser in every way, and, in the extreme, not even human.

[leftynyc]

12. I take a backseat to nobody

when it comes to dealing with the misogyny in this country - it's appalling. That said, to compare this country to Afghanistan (you know, what this story is about) is just a deflection and a dishonest deflection at that. When the southern baptists are in charge of the supreme court, you will have a point to make. But not now and not here.

[niyad]

13. spare me. the difference is in degress only, not kind. there is nothing dishonest at all about

what I said, but thanks for trying. I have been watching and listening to the woman-haters in this country for decades, and they are getting bolder, meaner and uglier by the day. but keep telling yourself how much better we are here.

[heaven05]

8. religion and 17th century culture

means that the males don't have to look them in the eye. And if they do, they're not wrong! The law says so. This world is slowly devolving back to the stone age with cruz and his RW sewer mates leading the way in this country. Religion, what a control tool! Is this really what a 'supreme being' wants for his creations? I hope not. If so.

[former9thward]

5. Now we know what thousands of our military have died to protect.

All of them should be out of that so-called country tomorrow.

[dipsydoodle]

7. Dulpicate LBN from yesterday

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014718803

[niyad]

9. this needs all the attention it can get, a very serious subject.

[niyad]

10. so this woman-hating bastard is in charge of the country, and our good friend. wonder if obama

will say anything about this law, and explain why we have troops in a country that openly does this (I mean, apart from that 900-mile natural gas pipeline)

. .

But that was five years ago, and since then Karzai has presided over a strengthening of conservative forces. In the last year alone parliament has blocked a law to curb violence against women and cut the quota for women on provincial councils, while the justice ministry floated a proposal to bring back stoning as a punishment for adultery.

. . .

[Shrike47]

11. We need to get out of there now, except to the extent it benefits us. And no more money.

[niyad]

14. what benefits do we receive from being there (and by "we", I don't mean the mic, I mean us as

the people)?

[OKNancy]

15. Duplicate topic - locking

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014718803

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