Afghan's Parliament Blocks Women's Rights Laws; Fails to Pass Law Banning Violence against Women

Fearing it would be violating Islamic doctrine, Afghanistan's parliament  failed to pass a law banning violence against women -- a severe blow to progress made in women's rights since the Taliban was toppled over a decade ago -- the Al Jazeera (Arabic)  website reports today (May 18, 2013).

President Hamid Karzai approved the law decree in 2009 and parliament's endorsement was required. But a rift between conservative and more secular members of the assembly resulted in debate being deferred to a later date.

Religious members objected to at least eight articles in the legislation, including keeping the legal age for women to marry at 16, the existence of shelters for domestic abuse victims, and the halving of the number of wives permitted to two.

"Today (May 18), the parliamentarians who oppose women's development, women's rights, and the success of women... made their voices loud and clear," Fawzia Koofi, head of parliament's women's commission, said. Women have won back the hard-fought right to education and work since the Taliban was toppled 12 years ago, but there are fears that these freedoms could shrink once American and NATO-led forces leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.