The Rape Law is back in the news...

After being in the headlines for a week or so in April the international outrage at Afghanistan's "Rape Law" sort of died down. Back then I had written quite a few posts about it, so let's go over the basics of it for those who don't remember:

1- The law states that: "women must obey their husband’s sexual demands and that a man can expect to have sex with his wife at least ‘once every four nights’ when traveling, unless they are ill." It also prohibits women from going to the doctor or leaving their home without their husband's protection.


2- "Article 132 legalizes the rape of a wife by her husband." (Unifem, the United Nations)

I could list a million quotes on this, or recount the reactions of many of the world's politician but the truth is that on April 7th when Hamid Karzai stated that he would revisit the law, but that the process would take 2 to 3 months.... (It's been almost three months now and there's an election coming up in Afghanistan in August)... the world's politicians were more than happy to see this issue disappear from the news. I can't believe that we didn't stay on top of this and that nothing new has come out of it.

Today in the Globe and Mail there's an article stating that Canada was warned in advance of this law, but that apparently our diplomats in Afghanistan didn't think that it was important enough to inform the parliament which still claims that it didn't know anything.

So there was a hearing and when asked one of our senior Canadian bureaucrats in Afghanistan said: “The law was not a focus of Afghan national political debate. We are unaware of any domestic media coverage in Afghanistan during this legislative process.” (Yves Brodeur)

If that were true then why did women who opposed the law and spoke out assassinated in the street?

And why did Soraya Sobharang, a prominent member of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission say: "Western countries let down the women of her country"? (Canada is the country who is basically paying for Afghanistan's Human Rights Commission.)

In the end I'm glad the Globe and Mail had an article about this yesterday for a few reasons: it keeps our government on its toes knowing that someone is watching... But mostly because this is something that I want to be able to follow until the August election, this law was wrong in April, it is still wrong today, the International Community needs to pressure these governments to treat their citizens in an fair and equal manner. This isn't about public relations and photo opportunities, this is about the life of women for generations to come in a country that our friends and neighbors died (and are still dying) to protect.

Muchacho Enfermo

HIV positive Women Are Being "Sterilized"

There is lawsuit launched against the government of Namibia by 20 women accusing the government of having them "sterilized" without their consent. It appears that women who were HIV positive and went to the hospital to deliver their babies by cesarean section were also rendered infertile by a procedure known as BTL (Bilateral Tubal Litigation).

The government claims these women signed consent forms. Many of the women, most of illiterate, say they were never explained what they were signing and that they were drugged at the time, half naked on the bed, about to deliver a baby.

Regardless of people's opinion in regards to women with HIV choosing to get pregnant and have children, one can't deny that what was done to these women was a violation of their rights and total offense to their dignity as human beings .

In the Globe and Mail, Aziza Ahmed a legal expert is quoted as havnig said:
“A lot of this stems from really strange and rudimentary fears about HIV-positive women, I think people want HIV-positive women to be punished in a way. There's that attitude that blames women for the spread of the virus.”

Another woman, one of the "sterilized" ones, explains how her "consent" was obtained:
“I said, ‘What am I signing for?'“ she recalls. “They just said, ‘Just sign this and get on the bed. Shut up and sign.' So I signed.”

In a place like Namibia women who are infertile are often seen as witches who eat their children and are shunned. Women who are rendered infertile by their doctors are usually abandoned by their husbands and left to take care of their family on their own. HIV positive women are now afraid to seek medical treatment for their illness or seek medical help in delivering babies because they are afraid that they will also be "sterilized".

This practice must stop. You can't perform surgery on someone, unless it is to save their lives, without their consent. Whether you are in Africa or in Canada, it should make no difference. These women have been butchered and are now completely set apart from their communities because of their inability to have children.

Are programs like these (the ones that violate human rights) where our Africa Aid money goes to? If so, I say we ask for audit reports and follow ups, because I do not want a single dollar of my taxes going to help those who violate the body, the soul, the existence and the rights of the poorest of the poor, the HIV positive women of Africa.

Mucahcho Enfermo

Opinions from Kenya

Just for kicks, I decided to follow up on yesterday's post about Kenyan women withholding sex from their husbands in order to push for political change, an initiative backed up by the country's first lady and by Kenya's own G10 (the group of 10 women's group that pushed for this action).

I've received a few emails, and a couple of comments about this and so far the women I've heard from where all in support of the Kenyan women's action. You'd think that other people in Kenya would take notice, they'd say something along the lines of: "Hmmmm maybe we should listen to these women..." Apparently that's not the kind of thing that happens in Kenya... According to a few articles and posts I've read from there today, people have completely missed the boat, for them it's all about the fact that sex is in the bedroom and not in parliament.

Here's some quotes with the links to the original sources:
"Insecurity, inflation and poverty only affect the ordinary mwananchi and now the hapless guy has been told that the only source of solace shall be denied. It’s highly unlikely that your average male politician can go for two days’ leave alone a week, without intimacy. Their wives won’t deny them and even if they did, these guys have a retinue of young girls waiting to unleash just for a song. Will they now accuse the men of viewing the women as nothing but sex objects?" (source)

Muslim Women in Kenya "said denying men sex would encourage them to be promiscuous, leading to rise in sexually transmitted diseases."
and
"The decisions we make could affect us for the rest of our lives and we don’t want to leave our children in orphanages or streets"
(source)

Click HERE for more.

After the last Kenyan elections "hundreds of Kenyan women have reported being raped during ethnic clashes that left more than 1300 people dead over the course of two months. The actual number of rapes committed likely totals over 3000..." So is it really surprising that women's bodies are once again at the center of a political battle? The difference is that this time the women aren't going to be victims...

Muchacho Enfermo

It Worked in Ancient Greece Right?

The women of Kenya have decided to withhold sex from their husband as part of a desperate plea to the government to work in a more unified manner towards the common good.

Women's groups on the ground estimate 40% of Kenyan are participating, everyone from prostitutes to the first lady who has voiced her support of the initiative. Kenya was in Chaos following the last election and this initiative aims at raising awareness and forcing the government and the opposition to work together in a more cohesive manner, with the future of the country and its people at the forefront of their actions.

The reactions from within Kenya are mixed:

"If my wife refuses to have sex with me, he says, she goes back to her mother. That is my right." Said a 23 year old man.

"People are really reacting to it, whether they are for it or not. We have been heard. That's the voice of women power." Rukia Subow, chairwoman of Kenya's oldest women's NGO,

“It might make a difference, but it's not right,” Says a female hairdresser. “According to God, according to the law, women should submit their bodies to their husbands. It's a rule.”

“They (men) have to be told something. They are so involved in themselves, especially the politicians. They're not thinking about other Kenyans.” Said a student named Olive.

This reminds my of an occidental history course I took like 10 years ago where we discussed at length how Greek women stopped the Peloponnesian Wars by withholding sex from their husbands. I remember being impressed by the whole business and not entirely unconvinced that it would probably work, although back then it was probably just the hormones talking.


If it's good enough for mythology then it must be good enough for Kenya. I raise my hat and my pint glass to these courageous women who decided to take public political matters into their own hands by making sure that their husbands must now take their "private matters" into theirs for the next week or so.

I hope there's a follow up story in some paper on this because I'm really curious to see if it actually does change something for them and for their country.

Muchacho Enfermo

Women's Rights Activitst Murdered in Kandahar

Sitara Achakzai, a woman with both German and Afghan citizenship had returned home in 2004 with the hope of helping rebuild her country. She was a prominent women's rights advocate, an elected official and a voice for progress in a country that sometimes seems hell bent on reliving the past. Her husband was teaching chemistry at Kandahar University, she was trying to help run a country. They both believed they could make a difference.

Kandahar is out of control, public assassination of women who dare voice their concern and their desire for society to move forward have been murdered on behalf of the Taliban. Minutes before her death Achakzai turned to a friend of hers, another female elected official and said: “I'm not afraid of death, I can go and get killed and it's no big deal.”

The sad state of affairs in Afghanistan is often downplayed in the media or at least does not have the prominent place it should seeing as we have thousands of Canadians there trying to help rebuild a country. Between the recent executions of prominent women and the newly passed (and now under revision) rape law, it seems clear that there are two forces at work here, in what seems to be a never ending tug-a-war, the progressive Afghans and those hell bent on keeping the status quo.

A friend close to Achakazi who wishes to remain anonymous was quoted as saying: “I want the world to understand how every person in this crazy place is feeling because this is a wake-up call to all of us that we could be next. The sad thing is nobody cares, it seems.” And perhaps her most poignant remark: "...this is how our country repays people. I have no faith in my government. I have no faith in the Taliban. I have no faith in the international community.”

I wish I could suggest something to help these courageous women, these progressive thinkers, but the only thing I can do from here is write about them and give them a voice from the this little blog. Trying to fix Afghanistan is kind of like trying to do a jigsaw puzzle with kids from all over holding the corner pieces. Except in this case the kids trying to bring you the corner pieces to help you finish the puzzle keep getting killed and no one does anything about it.

"I have no faith in the international community."

(source for quotes the G&M)

Muchacho Enfermo

Holy crap... Man in the US sold his daughter for 16k

That's right folks... A man from California sold his 14 year old daughter into marriage for a grand total of $16,000 and an undisclosed amount of beer and meat. The only reason the authorities found out was because the father went to the police when payment wasn't made.

Can you believe this crap? I know I can't, not even a little bit. I'd sell, maybe, some hockey cards for meat if I was really hard up, but my own offspring? This dude is nuts... thankfully he now faces a year in jail and then deportation.

I must say that whenever I hear stories like this it makes me want to to jump on a plane and being back the good old vigilante justice that I'm so fond of... If he was in Canada he'd get a slap on the wrist, but since he's in the US this backwards @ss father will face a much harsher sentence.

The moral of this story folks? There just isn't one. Something is just really REALLY wrong with the world when fathers sell their daughters.

Muchacho Enfermo

Afghanistan to Review Marital Rape Law

After the world cried out, after countless newspapers, blogs and politicians took to their chosen method of communication and spoke out against this atrocious little law; the Afghan justice minister, Sarwesh Danesh, said that Hamid Karzai had ordered a review of the law which would take two to three months.In the meantime women's rights will remain unchanged.

Canadian diplomat in Kabul, Ben Roswell, said: "We don't know what the outcome of the review is going to be. We do know that the government of Afghanistan is very serious about revisiting the law and anxious to use this review process in order to address concerns." I think the word "concern" is an understatement, we're talking downright objections here.

Afghan female MP Sabrina Saqeb said that she is concerned that Karzai is just trying to buy time because there is an election in August.

I've spoken about this crazy law at length in previous posts, but the one thing I did not address... While the government of Afghanistan was wrong to pass a law like this one, what about the people who would vote for someone BECAUSE of this law. Everyone, from newspapers to Afghan MPs have said that this law served only to garner votes from fundamentalists who would otherwise not vote for Karzai. What does that say about the people of Afghanistan?

Granted a majority of Afghan voters would probably not vote in favor of this law, but what about the minority of people who would? Every country has its radicals, from survivalists in the US to the IRA in Ireland to (a lesser extent) The Bloc Québécois and the PQ here at home. Governments have been known to pass laws to appeal to these radical minorities, take for example Stephen Harper's move to declare Québec a nation, the only purpose of this was to quiet down the separatist rumblings from PQ extremists and to garner support for his party in upcoming elections.

The main difference between this and the Afghan law is that declaring Québec a nation did not legalize the virtual imprisonment and rape of women. That's a huge difference. Québec being declared a nation did not take away the fundamental human rights of anyone. Québec being declared a nation (while it pissed me off) didn't shock the entire world and human rights groups across the globe.

Afghanistan is now a global center of attention. We wanted to bring democracy there and we did. Now let's see if this review process actually works. Let's see what Karzai values more: human rights and the protection of his people OR the power of his office.

Source for quotes the Globe and Mail

Muchacho Enfermo

Afghanistan... why haven't we left yet.

The Afghan ambassador to Canada was appealing to Canadians to not react too sharply to Article 132 and to keep supporting the mission in Afghanistan. He stated that his government had made great strides in women’s rights and the protection of women over the last 8 years. He also stated that the NATO mission was meant to help in restoring democracy and that it’s clear that they now have a democratic process. I must also, to be fair, add that the Afghan minister of justice has agreed to meet with foreign policy makers and amendments may be brought forth in Article 132.

I’ve spoken to many people about this whole thing over the last few days and the opinions vary from: “screw that let’s just leave” to “Oust Karzai and let the UN run the country” to “this is a great step in the right direction for democracy.”

Over the years I’ve had some friends and family serve in Afghanistan, I currently have some there, they’ve always supported the mission, and they’ve always thought they were there to stop things exactly like Article 132. They’ve fought hard and lost friends for this belief, even with so much of the country not supporting them back home. They went to bed at night proud that they were making an actual difference.

Now it’s not exactly clear what kind of difference they’ve made... It seems that they’ve helped a country rid itself of cruel leaders that regarded women as nothing less than sex toys and baby machines, only to replace it with someone who does the same thing except that he does it behind our backs smiling the whole way.

If it wasn’t for Canada and the NATO mission Karzai would have never won an election and if he did, if it wasn’t for NATO guarding his city he’d have been assassinated long ago. I think that our actions in Afghanistan entitle us to some kind of forewarning if a bill that is so radically against our values is being tabled.

Let me be clear, for those who say Canada or NATO has no right to intervene with governmental affairs of a sovereign nation... The Allies intervened in WWII to stop Germany from taking over the Europe and to stop the killing of Jews. We intervened in Kosovo to stop the ethnic cleansing. We tried to intervene in Rwanda but the world would not listen. Western intervention should not always mean the implementation of western values, such as democracy and a freewheeling economy, but it should mean the implementation of certain values that should be shared by every nation on earth: basic human rights and civil liberties for everyone, period. I think Canada has every right to tell Karzai to change this law now or we leave Afghanistan today.

Muchacho Enfermo

Pack it up, we leave Afghanistan today!

It was reported yesterday, from news sources all over the world that Afghan President Hamid Karzai is rumored to have signed a law that would not only diminish women's rights in Afghanistan, it would outright throw them out the window. This new law (Article 132) states that "women must obey their husband’s sexual demands and that a man can expect to have sex with his wife at least ‘once every four nights’ when traveling, unless they are ill." It also prohibits women from going to the doctor or leaving their home without their husband's protection.It is also rumored to grant custody of children only to fathers or grandfathers.

Shinkai Karokhail (a female Afghan MP): "It is one of the worst bills passed by the parliament this century."

Senator Humaira Namati (Afghanistan): "Worse than during the Taliban". "Anyone who spoke out was accused of being against Islam."

Hilary Clinton: "This is an area of absolute concern for the United States.My message is very clear. Women's rights are a central part of the foreign policy of the Obama administration."

Stockwell Day: "The onus is upon the government of Afghanistan to live up to its human-rights responsibilities, absolutely including the rights of women. If there is any wavering on this point … this will create serious difficulties, serious problems for the government of Canada."

Unifem (U.N): "Article 132 legalizes the rape of a wife by her husband."

The current Afghan administration actually had the balls to claim that this law protected women, who according to them, are weaker than men. Hamid Karzai declined to comment. It is widely speculated that signing this law is a move to garner votes from Afghan fundamentalists for the upcoming August elections.

If this law proves to be an actual law I firmly believe that Canada should lead the way in leaving Afghanistan. I would love to say that we should stay until our 2011 deadline and try to sway the Afghan government, but it's clear that NATO's influence in this country has not done very much good if the Afghan parliament still passes such backwards legislation as this one. How can one put his political career before the rights of millions of citizens?

We (Canada) should not be defending a government that does not do its best to protect its citizens. We should not support an administration that violates the rights of women. We should make our discontent and anger known. Canada, as a country known for its peacekeeping and for being a champion for Human Rights, should not be associated in any way in propping up this government that has clearly failed to live up to our, and the world's, expectations.

I don't want to see anymore Canadian men and women brought back home in coffins for a country that legalizes rape and violates Human Rights. Afghanistan, consider this your ultimatum.

sources for quotes:
Globe and Mail
Daily Mail
Guardian

Muchacho Enfermo

Women must be executed for... shopping?

I read today in a blog I fallow called A Reluctant Mind that in the city of Mingora in Pakistan the Taliban have declared that all women entering the market will be executed. This was originally reported in the Daily Times.

To most of us in the west this seems crazy... as it does to most people living in urban centers in Pakistan. But the bottom line is that things like this happen even in a country that is considered a major US ally in the fight against the Taliban.

I'm just really at a loss for words I'm just in shock...


"‘Women are not allowed in the market,’ reads a banner displayed at the entrance of a market in Mingora. Taliban have banned the entry of women in markets and ordered the killing of women who violate the ban. Most shop owners have sold or shut down their businesses because of falling sales following the restriction." Daily Times

Muchacho Enfermo

14 year old girl gets razor blade abortion...

An Afghan girl finds herself in critical care at a US army hospital in Afghanistan today after her mother and brother cut her abdomen open with a razor blade, removed the 5 month old fetus the girl had inside her and sewed her up with needle and thread. The only reason she ever made it to the hospital is that her father was worried once the wound became seriously infected. He told doctors it was a dog bite.

The story was reported by Jane Armstrong in the Globe and Mail and appears in today's G & M...

The 14 year old's pregnancy was the result of a rape. Victims often keep quiet about rape in Afghanistan because in many cases the victim is shamed by friends and family and the police will claim that she consented to sex or lured the man into sleeping with her.

Abortion is illegal in Afghanistan unless the mother's health is seriously at risk. Even then, abortion must be debated by a panel of doctors.

So just so we're clear: this 14 year old victim of rape, would be stuck with a baby she didn't want, shamed by her family, would never find a husband. Since abortion is illegal her mother butchered her with a razor to get the fetus out and possibly killed her own daughter in the process.

Every country of the world should have provisions to protect victims of rape, especially ones so young. To help them should they want help. To be there for them should they need someone there. It seems to me that caring for our young people should be a priority no matter where you are in the world.

Muchacho Enfermo