I was just alerted to this on the Web site of Der Spiegel, but evidently President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan has signed legislation that permits any Afghan husband force sex on his wive(s). I found the report in Englishthrough the Associated Press. Speculation is that Karzai is pandering to the Taliban and the Shiite minority in the country to gain power ahead of the forthcoming elections.
The law — which some lawmakers say was never debated in parliament — is intended to regulate family life inside Afghanistan's Shiite community, which makes up about 20 percent of this country of 30 million people. The law does not affect Afghan Sunnis.
One of the most controversial articles stipulates the wife "is bound to preen for her husband as and when he desires."
"As long as the husband is not traveling, he has the right to have sexual intercourse with his wife every fourth night," Article 132 of the law says. "Unless the wife is ill or has any kind of illness that intercourse could aggravate, the wife is bound to give a positive response to the sexual desires of her husband."
The UN has condemned the law as "legalizing rape".
The Canadian government has been most vociferous in expressing outrage about the new law. Canada has lost 116 soldiers in Afghanistan and spend billions of dollars supporting Karzai's government:
"The concept that women are full human beings with human rights is very, very central to the reason the international community is engaged in this country," Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said this week in London, where he's attending the G-20 summit.
Canada's Defense Minister Peter MacKay said he will use this week's NATO summit to put "direct" pressure on his Afghan counterparts to abandon the legislation.
So when will the US, which has paid an enormous price in terms of blood and treasure, voice its displeasure with Karzai?