Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss.
Peace, freedom, and women's rights under Islam.
You undoubtedly recall that women's rights, or the lack of them, were a big selling point for the war in Afghanistan. And truly, even though Bush said it, there is no gainsaying the horrific abuses that women suffered under the Taliban. Fortunately, we were able to invade, overthrow the Taliban, and create a more Western-friendly government.
Unfortunately, the Shiite minority learned from the Taliban, and now they're imposing similar oppressive measures on Afghan women. Under a new law adopted by the Afghan parliament and signed by our friend, Hamid Karzai:
One provision makes it illegal for a woman to resist her husband’s sexual advances. A second provision requires a husband’s permission for a woman to work outside the home or go to school. And a third makes it illegal for a woman to refuse to “make herself up” or “dress up” if that is what her husband wants.
Not all Afghan women are accepting this new law. Dozens of young women braved crowds of bearded men screaming "dogs!" on Wednesday to protest an Afghan law that lets husbands demand sex from their wives. Some of the men picked up small stones and pelted the women.
"Slaves of the Christians!" chanted the 800 or so counter-demonstrators, a mix of men and women. A line of female police officers locked hands to keep the groups apart.
I actually supported the invasion of Afghanistan. After the 2001 terrorist attacks I didn't see how we could fail to go after the people who carried those attacks out. At this point, though, it's getting hard to see how the current government is any improvement over the guys who we unseated.
Peace, freedom, and women's rights under Islam.
You undoubtedly recall that women's rights, or the lack of them, were a big selling point for the war in Afghanistan. And truly, even though Bush said it, there is no gainsaying the horrific abuses that women suffered under the Taliban. Fortunately, we were able to invade, overthrow the Taliban, and create a more Western-friendly government.
Unfortunately, the Shiite minority learned from the Taliban, and now they're imposing similar oppressive measures on Afghan women. Under a new law adopted by the Afghan parliament and signed by our friend, Hamid Karzai:
One provision makes it illegal for a woman to resist her husband’s sexual advances. A second provision requires a husband’s permission for a woman to work outside the home or go to school. And a third makes it illegal for a woman to refuse to “make herself up” or “dress up” if that is what her husband wants.
Not all Afghan women are accepting this new law. Dozens of young women braved crowds of bearded men screaming "dogs!" on Wednesday to protest an Afghan law that lets husbands demand sex from their wives. Some of the men picked up small stones and pelted the women.
"Slaves of the Christians!" chanted the 800 or so counter-demonstrators, a mix of men and women. A line of female police officers locked hands to keep the groups apart.
I actually supported the invasion of Afghanistan. After the 2001 terrorist attacks I didn't see how we could fail to go after the people who carried those attacks out. At this point, though, it's getting hard to see how the current government is any improvement over the guys who we unseated.
posted by Jack McCullough at 3:38 PM
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