so sad...

"Afghans protest new marriage law, pelted with stones"

CTV.ca News Staff

A 300-strong group of Afghan women were pelted with small stones Wednesday as they protested against a controversial law that legalizes rape within marriage.

A much larger group of about 1,000 Afghans -- both men and women -- swarmed the demonstration to throw stones and shout at the women.

Police struggled to keep the two groups from clashing and even formed a human chain around the anti-marriage law demonstrators.

The so-called Shia Family Law allows a husband to demand sex from his wife every four days unless she is ill or would be harmed by the act.

Critics say the law, passed by Afghanistan's national assembly last month, essentially legalizes marital rape.

It also confines women to the home unless they have a male escort.

The law has sparked outrage among Western nations, including Canada, which forced President Karzai to issue a statement saying that he has ordered a review of the legislation.

If made official, the law would only apply to the Shiites living in Afghanistan -- about 10 to 20 per cent of the country's 30 million people.

Shiite supporters say foreigners are becoming too involved in the private affairs of Afghans.
On Wednesday, the counter-protesters shouted "Death to the slaves of the Christians!" at the demonstrators.

"You are a dog! You are not a Shiite woman!" one man shouted to a young woman protester.
The woman, holding a banner that said "We don't want Taliban law," did not shout back.

"This is my land and my people," she said.

Fourteen-year-old Masuma Hasani said her whole family had joined the protest against the law.
"I am concerned about my future with this law," she said. "We want our rights. We don't want women to just be used."

Meanwhile, 24-year-old Mariam Sajadi said foreigners were the "enemy of Afghanistan."
Sajadi, engaged to be married, said she plans to follow the law and ask her husband's permission to leave the house.

She said the parts of the law dealing with sexual relations between husband and wife have been misinterpreted by Westerners.