Awesome! That makes everything better for the women who were stoned for protesting the law, or prominent female activists that were assassinated as a result of their vocal opposition. Good job Mr Karzai, you have demonstrated exactly what a head of state should NOT do. A head of state should be able to represent the interests of his people at all times, a head of state should be aware of all new laws that he personally signs off on, he should be on top of things.
In his defense Karzai said that he would amend the law to bring it in line with international Human Rights standards, but it remains to be seen whether or not he'll really try to change it before his term is up and the August elections are called. A woman attending the meeting said: “We're not really sure if he'll keep the promise and bring the amendments, but at least he says he will. We're hopeful.”
Amazing how people can keep the faith in the face of such blatant lack of professionalism and a lack of respect for the women of his country that have endured so much hardship under previous administrations.
I challenge Mr Karzai to keep his word and amend the law; also I'd like him to make it available for public viewing prior to the August election. Women in Afghanistan and everywhere have the right to not be afraid of their husbands, the have the right to sleep soundly knowing that rape is a punishable offense, they have a right to say no, they have a right to express themselves without being stoned in the streets. In short, women have the exact same rights as the men they share this world with.
Muchacho Enfermo
3 comments:
That's the best excuse I've ever heard (and actually, I've heard it a lot of times).
We need a world, as Denise Dresser (a Mexican journalist and professor of Political Science) said, where "men have their rights and nothing more and women their rights and nothing less".
Karzai should be abandoned by the West, but we can't simply leave because it would be equal to abandon his constituents (or subjects, or victims of his poor reading abilities, or whatever we call them) to the whims, whishes, and venalities of those wholesome boys of the Taliban.
@Marxe: Seriously awesome quote. I am keeping that as the tag line for everyone one of my posts about women's rights from here on in.
@Charlie: I've said that so often, but also you are right... We can't abandon those poor people to his or the Taliban's reign of terror. There's no easy answer in Afghanistan, but we've got to come up with one fast because I'm tired of seeing are men and women die to defend his administration.
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