OTTAWA – Canadian officials contacted the Afghan government yesterday to express concern about new legislation that would reportedly allow men to rape their wives.
The Canadian government reacted with outrage following reports that the Karzai administration has approved a wide-ranging family law for the country's Shia minority.
The legislation is believed to contain articles that make it illegal for Shia women to refuse their husbands sex, leave the house without permission, or have custody of children, the London-based newspaper The Guardian reported yesterday.
Canadian officials contacted the office of President Hamid Karzai, and Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon spoke to two Afghan cabinet ministers yesterday seeking clarification.
Karzai's office has so far refused to comment on the legislation.
Critics say Karzai's government approved it in a hurry to win support in the upcoming election from ethnic Hazaras – a Shia Muslim minority that constitutes a crucial block of swing voters.
Canada, which has lost 116 soldiers in Afghanistan and spent up to $10 billion propping up the Karzai government, has demanded more information about the law.
"If these reports are true, this will create serious problems for Canada," said International Trade Minister Stockwell Day.
"The onus is on the government of Afghanistan to live up to its responsibilities for human rights, absolutely including rights of women.
"If there's any wavering on this point from the government of Afghanistan, this will ... create serious problems and be a serious disappointment for us."
Day was fielding questions in the House of Commons about the reported law while Cannon was in Europe attending an international summit on Afghanistan.
Late yesterday, Canadian officials said they had learned the law was not yet in effect but that they remained "very concerned."
Of course, this is a different culture and we have no right to judge them
