New Afghan law does not allow marital rape... but lets men refuse to feed wives who deny them sex, says clerichttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1170175/New-Afghan-law-does-allow-marital-rape--lets-men-refuse-feed-wives-deny-sex-says-cleric.htmlew Afghan law does not allow marital rape... but lets men refuse to feed wives who deny them sex, says cleric
A new Afghan law that has drawn Western condemnation for restricting women's rights does not allow marital rape as its critics claim, but lets men refuse to feed wives who deny them sex, the cleric behind it says.
Ayatollah Mohammed Asef Mohseni's Shi'ite personal status law sparked controversy abroad because of a provision that 'a wife is obliged to fulfil the sexual desires of her husband'.
This was read by some as an open door to marital rape, and together with clauses restricting women's freedom of movement denounced as reminiscent of harsh Taliban-era rules.
The law has been criticised by Western leaders with troops fighting in Afghanistan, including U.S. President Barack Obama, who called it 'abhorrent'.
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, who signed the law last month, has since put it under review.
But Mohseni said the law - which only applies to the 15 percent of Afghans who are Shi'a muslims - has been misinterpreted by critics.
Its sexual clauses aimed only to ensure men's sexual needs were met within marriage, because Islam prohibited them seeking satisfaction with other women.
'Why should a man and woman get married if there is no need for a sexual relationship? Then they are like brother and sister,' he told Reuters in an interview in his recently built central Kabul mosque and university complex.
'A man and wife can negotiate how often it is reasonable to sleep together, based on his sex drive, and a woman has a right to refuse if she has a good reason,' said the bearded cleric.
'It should not be compulsory for the wife to say yes all the time, because some men have more sexual desires than others,' he said, adding that husbands should never force themselves on their wives and the law does not sanction that.
But women do have a duty to meet their husband's needs.
'If a woman says no, the man has the right not to feed her,' Mohseni said.
The law allows women to work, so they could theoretically refuse sex and support themselves, but in mainly rural Afghanistan most women are dependent on husbands.
The law is milder than the severe restrictions imposed by the Sunni Muslim Taliban, who banned all women and girls from any work or study, and from leaving the home without a male relative. But opponents still consider it a step backwards.
They also want to strike down a provision that says women can leave their home freely for work, education or medical care, but otherwise require their husband's permission to go out.
Mohseni said this was not a final word - if women want more freedom of movement, they can ask for it to be included in their marriage contract:
'If he says no, she can marry someone else.'
But in Afghanistan most marriages are arranged and women's low social status would make it hard for most to refuse a union.
The warring protests highlight the explosive nature of the women's rights debate in Afghanistan. Both sides are girding for battle over the legislation, which has sparked an international uproar since being quietly signed into law last month.
The law says a husband can demand sex with his wife every four days, unless she is ill or would be harmed by intercourse. It also regulates when and for what reasons a wife may leave her home without a male escort.
Though the law would apply only to the country's Shiites, who make up less than 20 percent of Afghanistan's 30 million people, many fear its passage marks a return to Taliban-style oppression of women.
The Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan from 1996-2001, required women to wear all-covering burqas and banned them from leaving home unless accompanied by a male relative.
Governments and rights groups around the world have condemned the legislation, and President Barack Obama has labeled it 'abhorrent.'
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has remanded the law to the Justice Department for review and put enforcement on hold.
But those who decry the legislation face quick criticism from conservative Muslim clerics and their followers, as Wednesday's protests showed.
'You are a dog! You are not a Shiite woman!' one man shouted to a young woman in a head scarf.
The woman, who held a banner reading 'We don't want Taliban law,' replied quietly: 'This is my land and my people.'
The demonstrators chose a risky spot to hold their protest - in front of the mosque of the legislation's main backer - and were easily outnumbered by supporters of the law.
They said many women had been stopped on their way to the protest.
In the end, more women demonstrated in favor of the law than against it.
A few hundred Shiite women marched with banners to join the angry men. They blamed foreigners for inciting the protests.
'We don't want foreigners interfering in our lives. They are the enemy of Afghanistan,' said 24-year-old Mariam Sajadi.
Sajadi is engaged to be married, and said she plans to ask her husband's permission to leave the house as put forth in the law.
She said other articles - such as the one allowing husbands to demand sex - have been misinterpreted by Westerners prejudiced against Islam. She did not elaborate.
On the other side of the shouting, Mehri Rezai, 32, urged her countrymen to reject the law.
'This law treats women as if we were sheep,' she said.
