“The forced marriages, the selling of women these are against Islam,” Karzai told some 600 women gathered in a high school auditorium in the capital, Kabul, at a speech commemorating International Women’s Day.
“The forced marriages, the selling of women these are against Islam,” Karzai told some 600 women gathered in a high school auditorium in the capital, Kabul, at a speech commemorating International Women’s Day.
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Update: This story from Reuters muddies the waters somewhat, and raises questions about the content of the new law, how big a departure it is, and so on. Part of the problem seems to be that very few people have actually seen the bill:
But lawmaker Sayed Hussain Alem Balkhi, who was involved in debating the bill in parliament, told Reuters it contained “no such thing” and that the reports were “propaganda”.
“This bill stipulates lots of leniencies compared to the civic laws that have been around for 40 years. For example, (under the new law) a Shi’ite woman can seek divorce if her husband is not able to feed her or he disappears for a long time,” Balkhi said.