The "conservatives" (read: Muslim misogynists) in the Afghan parliament succeeded in shelving much needed legislation that --at least on the books-- would serve as a first and essential step towards addressing the pervasive culturally/socially sanctioned violence against the female populace in the name of Islam.
The Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, also known as EVAW, which had the approval of President Karzai was withdrawn from debate/passage in Afghanistan's Wolesi Jirga (House of the people).
Opponents to the bill --which would legislatively embed essential protections for Afghan females against being bought and sold, married off as children and ensure certain protections from rampant domestic violence (at least legally)-- trotted out "Islamic Shariah" to bolster their opposition to institutional protections for females.
What is sobering is the fact that certain female members of the parliament joined forces with the mullah/Islamist/"conservatives" to oppose measures that would protect their own sisters/daughters/mothers etc.
Sick and tired of the "un-Islamic" mantra being bandied about to silence opponents of Shariah. How can these "Shariah" proponents justify continued horrors as permissible according to Islamic jurisprudence like the recent news on the brutal/horrific marital rape and murder of an 8 year old by her 50 year old husband (who was also a village mullah) on her wedding night or the stoning to death for alleged infidelity in some village in Kunduz? What kind of "religion" ("of peace") is one talking about??? Are there sane people left in the Muslim dominated regions willing and able to speak out against such brutalities or is the rabies spreading fast?
The horrific violence against children, females (being burnt alive, acid thrown, noses cut off) and tolerant (read: secularists/religious minorities) citizens in the name of Islam aka the religion of peace is rampant in the Muslim world.
Where is the outrage in these Muslim societies and the equally brutal countermeasures against beasts who understand /appreciate no other language/methods/measures?
To Karzai's credit, he managed to circumvent the "conservative" legislators by passing a presidential decree (the Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women) in 2009 which criminalized child marriage, forced prostitution, rape, forced self-immolation and any other violent behavior which specifically targeted females. But he has no traction (or does he??) with the "conservative" elements in Parliament to ensure this becomes law.
Brave activists like Fawzia Koofi, head of the women's affairs committee of the upper house of parliament, the Wolesi Jirga, and a strong supporter of EVAW met their match in the thuggish opposition disguised as "pious religious entities" who sought to ensure compliance with Shariah: namely the mullahs and warlords who managed to wrestle their way into the parliament a long time ago.
With the NATO withdrawal looming, proponents of such measures have good reason to worry. What is tragic is that after billions of dollars spent to win "hearts and minds" and help the Afghan populace counter the terrorists (read: Muslim extremists), what a NATO "victory" will look like in due course will be hard for most Westerners to fathom.
The window of opportunity closed a long time ago because of a myriad of factors and missed breaks at the very beginning.
Alas, the writing is on the wall. There is only one way to deal with this growing scourge and it is not a palatable one for most civilized people. Yet.
http://www.thefrontierpost.com/article/13707/
http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/10536-law-on-elimination-of-violence-against-women-dropped-by-parliament
http://kabulpress.org/my/spip.php?article88802
